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Jebel Marra Volcano | John Seach
Darfur province, Sudan
12.95 N, 24.27 E
summit elevation 3042
Volcanic field
Jebel Marra volcano is located in Darfur province, western Sudan, 200 km from the border with Chad, and about 100 km north of the town of Nyala. It is the second highest peak in Sudan. The Marra plateau covers 12,000 sq km from Tabago Hills to Tebella Plateau. The Marra plateau contains montane woodland.
The volcanic province is 80 km wide at its broadest part. The southern area of the volcanic rocks is generally known as Jebel Marra after the highest point, while the northern parts are centred around Jebel Gurgei.
Deriba caldera is located in south of the volcanic filed. It was formed 3500 years ago. The volcano contains lava plugs and lava spines, scoria cones and lava flows.
The Marra mountains rise steeply from the flat plains of western Sudan at about 1000 m elevation to just under 3000 m above sea level. The highest ground (3042 m) occurs around the serrated rim of a spectacular caldera some 5 km in diameter. Within the floor of this basin, at an elevation of about 2000 m are the two Deriba lakes, the smaller of which occupies a small cone as a deep crater lake approximately one kilometer across. The other is a shallow saline lake 2.5 km in length.
Fumaroles are located on the flanks of a small pyroclastic cone within the caldera.
Further reading
Vail, J.R., 1972. Jebel Marra, a dormant volcano in Darfur Province, western Sudan. Bulletin Volcanologique, 36(1), pp.251-265.
Burton, A.N. and Wickens, G.E., 1966. Jebel Marra volcano, Sudan. Nature, 210(5041), pp.1146-1147.
Jebel Marra Volcano Eruptions
2000 BC?