Volcano Nyiragongo (Africa) - description. Volcano Nyiragongo (Africa) - description Volcano Nagogo is famous for the fact that

In June 2010, several intrepid scientists and explorers walked onto the shore of a boiling lava lake in the heart of the Nyiragongo volcano crater, located in the center of the African Great Lakes region. Since childhood, researchers have dreamed of getting to the shore of big lake lavas all over the world, mesmerized by the documentary "The Devil's Explosions", made by Haroun Taziff back in the 60s. It was this film that gave the public the first look at the fiery core of the Nyiragongo crater. Photographer Olivier Grünwald was a meter away from this lake, and now we have a unique opportunity to see the molten substance.

The volcano erupted in 1977 and 2002, completely destroying most of the city of Goma in Congo.

Climber and Nyiragongo veteran Jacques Barthelemy uses a rope to lower equipment to the second level.

Night. The camp is illuminated by a lake of lava.

This is the view from the edge of the volcano, 3,470 meters (11,380 feet) above sea level. At a depth of about 400 meters (1,300 feet), the lava lake is one of the many wonders of the African continent.

Volcanic gases over the main camp. Expedition members often had to sleep wearing gas masks.

Measuring the size of a lava lake using a laser telemeter.

Using this tube, volcanologist Dario Tedesco takes gas samples to study volcanic activity.
Hot gas condenses in a special small container. Scientists believe this is a vital operation that could be useful in predicting future volcanic eruptions.

The goal of the expedition is to reach the edge of the lava lake. No one has managed this before.

Expedition members communicate via radio and transmit data about lava activity and the direction of gas movement.

The task for climbers is also to find best way descent

Pierre-Yves Bourgi collects gas at the bottom of the crater. The samples will be studied by Dario Tedesco, who was recently appointed head of the UN's Natural Hazards Research Unit.

Explosion of gas bubbles on the surface of a lava lake.

The permanent lava lake at Nyiragongo Volcano is the largest in the world. Experts estimate that it contains about 8 million cubic meters (282 million cubic feet) of lava. In 1977 and 2002, the lava lake rose to the very edge of the crater, and the lava destroyed much of the city of Goma in Democratic Republic Congo.

Frank Pote approaches the lava. For such a walk, the wind must blow at his back, removing the heat. He is constantly informed by radio about changes in wind direction.

Mark Cullet is the first member of the team to reach the edge of the lake.

Olivier Grünwald prepares his photography equipment to protect it from temperatures that can reach 1,300 degrees.

Approaching 282 million cubic feet (8 million cubic meters) of lava is impossible without good protection.

In such a suit with limited visibility, Olivier Grunwald is told by radio how to walk and where to place his feet.

A close-up of the lava lake is the first shot. Photographer Olivier Grunwald: “I was so shocked by the spectacle of the lava surface that I stopped feeling time and heat, I just took pictures and took pictures. Suddenly they told me on the radio that it was time to return, lava activity appeared dangerously close to me?

The main risk was the frequent overflow of the lake with lava. Members of the expedition from the second level warned their colleagues by radio about the threat of lava movement.

At dawn, the light becomes stunningly beautiful, but gases from the lava can completely envelop the crater floor in a matter of seconds.

There was an overflow early at night. Year after year, the lava rises higher and higher along the crater walls until it overflows and an eruption begins. The purpose of the expedition is to collect information to enable volcanologists to predict such events and prevent tragedies.

Gas bubbles explode on the surface of the lake. The lake is constantly agitated due to the movement of the earth's crust.

The lava lake often splashed onto the shores, but this did not stop the expedition members.

Volcano Nyiragongo is considered the most active of the eight volcanoes in the world that form the Virunga mountain range.

At the beginning of the descent to the second level, the greatest danger is from falling stones. Gases also often blind climbers.

The expedition members had to carry about 600 kilograms (1,300 pounds) of equipment, as well as enough food and water for two days. Their main camp was located 120 meters (400 feet) above the lava lake.

Before this expedition, its participants had to undergo 4 months of training.

Through calm and orderly Uganda, my path lay in a country that was completely incomprehensible due to lack of information - the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly called Zaire. Our trip with Oleg ended in the town of Kisoro on the border between Uganda and the DRC, from where he had to return to Entebbe and fly back to Russia, and I remained to wait for a group of enthusiasts, with whom I planned a short foray into the enchanted world.

Enchanted in the sense that it is extremely difficult to get there, and no one knows what is happening there. The crumbs of leaked information are so contradictory that they provide virtually nothing for understanding the situation. Our goal was one of the oldest parks in Africa - the national park Virunga(Parc national des Virunga), created at the beginning of the last century, when this territory belonged to the Belgians. Such legendary naturalists as Carl Akeley and Daina Fossey once worked here. A Russian ornithologist who left for Belgium after the revolution, Alexander Romanovich Prigozhin (1913-1991), worked in the same region. He discovered several new species of birds here, and whose name is immortalized in the names of four of them.

The park was created for conservation, but there are several volcanoes here that are very interesting to visit. Some of them are extinct, but there are also active ones. And very active! The most interesting is the Nyiragongo volcano ( Nyiragongo ), which has an open lava lake in its crater.

This is what Nyiragongo crater looks like at night

Zaire is one of the most large countries on the African continent, and perhaps one of the richest - large deposits of gold, diamonds, uranium, and copper. Belgian colonial past, a lot of internecine wars and political upheavals since independence. The bloodiest war since World War II also took place here. Weak central government and local chaos. These are just a few characteristics of the region. The country is one of the five most troubled criminal states, along with Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq......

The east of the country can be calm at times; large UN forces are concentrated here, including our Russian helicopter base. However, as recent events have shown, this has helped little. The rebels recently recaptured most of the region, including the capital Goma, where our pilots were based. The national park has been closed to the public for several months now. No one knows what is happening there). Our group broke through there during a relatively calm period.

When speaking about Nyiragongo’s activity, I did not exaggerate at all. Since 1882, he has rioted 34 times, i.e. almost every 4 years!

The last eruption was in 2002. And each time there were casualties and great destruction.

In 2002, everything happened on January 17th. Lava flows quickly reached Goma, the city itself is only 12-15 km from the volcano, in good weather it is perfectly visible. But to us, because of the always cloudy weather, he did not want to show himself completely in his glory! The mountain was constantly shrouded in clouds, and even when the sun suddenly appeared and most of the clouds disappeared, the sky above the volcano was invariably overcast, and it was still impossible to see its peak.

This is what Nyiragongo looks like from the road. Soon we will have to walk many difficult kilometers to its top.

2002 Along the way, the lava swept away everything in its path, 14 villages simply disappeared, as if they never existed.
Goma was partially covered, mostly by her northern part, 14 thousand houses were destroyed, several hundred thousand people were evacuated (according to official data, about 400 thousand). Even more fled on their own to neighboring Rwanda, where special camps for refugees were opened.

But time goes by...

After almost 10 years, the outskirts of the city look sad, although of course new villages have already been rebuilt in place of the burnt villages - this is not a tricky thing in the tropics). This is not for you to sculpt a hut for the Russian winter!

In a few years, these remnants of lava will no longer be visible - everything will be covered with grass and bushes... unless, of course, there is a new eruption.

To climb the volcano, a permit from the Virunga Park administration is required. For the integrity and safety of tourists, armed guards are attached to them.
Anyone can also use porters from the locals living in the villages nearby. As a rule, there are several times more people willing to carry your backpack than necessary. This is understandable - people have practically no work and a little extra income is needed just to survive!

Our guards

Porters with our belongings, at a halt

The climb to the top is quite difficult and takes about six hours. During this time you cover about 1700 m in altitude.
The path first goes along frozen lava - the places where the fire flow passed in 2002. Individual dead trees create an unsightly atmosphere and an unpleasant feeling stirs inside: “Will everything happen again in the next minute?”

Then we got into a typical mountain a tropical forest. Here the atmosphere is lighter, and the familiar feeling of anticipation of meeting birds distracts you from gloomy thoughts.
However, the severity of the climb did not allow us to completely immerse ourselves in birdwatching concerns - the pace of the climb could not be lost, otherwise we would not have reached the top before dark.

The last and at the same time the most difficult section was at the top.
Here the woody vegetation recedes and a belt of bushy junipers begins, and above that there are giant lobelias and some tree-like shrubs similar to rhododendrons. But enjoying the beauty of the surrounding nature was hampered by heavy fog and, again, the pace of the ascent.

A light rain suddenly began to fall in the belt of giant lobelias. Our heated bodies perceived it as salvation. But this did not last long.
Not long in terms of light rain. It intensified. It intensified into a downpour like a wall!
At the same time, a cold...or rather, even icy wind blew. And the rain began to turn into hail. In a few minutes everyone was wet to the last thread and, in addition, chilled to the very last cell. But the most unpleasant thing was that the path along which we climbed, and all the slopes around, turned into a turbulent stream of water, which became more and more dangerous to move along with every minute.

However, the fog did not stop. Only the smell of sulfur intensified, coming from somewhere above and telling us that the final goal was already very close.
At some point, through the fog, everyone saw the unclear silhouette of some building. “Lower camp” flashed through my mind... Yes, indeed, we reached this conditional point, where it was possible to somehow shelter from the bad weather. But as soon as the first people were in the camp, the rain stopped.

Of course, it’s difficult to call these remains of buildings a camp, but in this situation they were enough to change into dry clothes and warm up.
In addition, I had a bottle of Hennessy in my stash just for such occasions, which we immediately put to use!
Or rather, in expense!

I must say that no one was despondent...both before Hennessy and especially after him.
Everyone was in an enviably fighting mood. Then there was only the last push - the ascent from the lower camp to the crater.

Above the lower camp there are only almost bare screes of crumbled lava.

Not long before our ascent to the volcano, the park administration installed small houses there for tourists like us who climb here overnight.
What a joy it was to climb inside and fall on the bed!

But not for long! Just take a breath. Literally a few tens of meters from the houses the crater begins. Meeting place can not be Changed!
I put on the last remnants of warm clothes. Height 3470 m.a.s.l. And even though central Africa is all around, the temperature is only about zero.
Vysotsky’s words “in yellow hot Africa, in its central part” are spinning in my head ............ Yes! Quite the opposite!

And here is the volcano itself. It's covered in smoke. Can't see anything! What a horror! There is fog around, in the crater - smoke... i.e. solid milk!

We stand for ten minutes... half an hour... an hour - the same picture before our eyes: clouds of smoke rising from below, red flashes sometimes flashing in rare gaps.
There is only one thought in my head: is it really in vain that we climbed, will we really never see the crater? Is it really in vain?!

The onset of darkness puts everything in its place. The temperature drops, and after this the fog retreats down to where it is warmer.
Although the crater is still covered in smoke, at certain moments it is clearly visible. Especially when the upper layers of lava gradually cool and form a crust, preventing smoke from escaping.

Then, under the pressure of hot lava from below, the frozen crust begins to crack into bizarre crack patterns, its individual sections sink down, and liquid lava bursts up.
Here you need to seize the moment, because immediately after this, clouds of smoke burst out from the depths, covering the entire view. Each time this action occurs differently - watching this kaleidoscope is an incredible pleasure.

It is in this hunt for moments that several hours pass in complete darkness. People replace each other at the top post, and just below in the houses the soldiers who were on duty are warming up!
Here is camp food, a stash of smoked sausage, lard... and other warming attributes - an integral part of such outings.

A great many shots were taken, but most were in the furnace. Finding the right mode turned out to be difficult. Even though you are shooting at night, the lava is extremely mobile - long shutter speeds are unacceptable, and bright clumps of lava instantly overexpose.

Here are some stills from the footage.

This is how this volcano appeared to me. There's not much to say about the descent. Everything went as normal, the only thing was that the weather was much better.
Due to the high pace of the birds, it was not possible to observe the birds at all, although in the belt of giant lobelias I met a cool sunbird that I really wanted to see - Nectarinia johnstoni in a typical setting - feeding on a lobelia inflorescence. It’s nice, even if it’s a little)))

Climb to Nyiragongo volcano, which is located in the Virunga Mountains of the Republic of Congo, the cherished dream of many travelers. Its top is a round crater, in the depths of which there is a boiling lava lake.

Volcano Nyiragongo (Africa) - description

Particular daredevils spend the night at the foot, climb to the edge of the crater, walk on the frozen lava crust and even meet New Year together with . Sometimes the volcano becomes covered with clouds of steam, and it becomes impossible to see the lake.

The best time for impressions is at night, which turns red due to the blazing magma. The sky is filled with scarlet paint for fifty kilometers. The fiery sparks of the lake dance on the surface, sometimes rising to a height of up to 30m. You can see how the bubbles explode and the basalt crusts drown. As the lake level rises, lava begins to pour over the edge, the walls of the crater shaking and humming.

Nyiragongo and the world's largest lava lake

This lava lake is considered the largest on the planet. The depth of Lake Nyiragon reaches 600 m, and the temperature of the lava reaches 1000 degrees. The volume is also impressive - 76 million m3.

The lake lives its own mysterious life, and very few admit volcanologists and seismologists. Meanwhile Nyiragongo volcano- the most dangerous on the planet, and primarily for the residents of the million-strong city of Goma. A huge city lies at the foot of the volcano, as if protesting against its power and strength.

During the existence of the city, the volcano already erupted in 2002. Sometimes it is in the active phase for many years in a row, as can be seen from the solidified magma. Nyiragongo lava is unusually fluid due to the fact that it contains little silicon and a lot of potassium. Its speed during the eruption is more than 70 km/h.

Gentle slopes and faults in them only increase the danger of hot streams converging. Gas streams often escape through side craters and cracks. There are such places even in the city itself.

The African volcano Nyiragongo is located in the Virunga Mountains, 20 km north of Lake Kivu and the city of Goma on its shore, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), more precisely, in the border zone with the Republic of Rwanda, to the west of it.
The Albertina Rift passes through this territory - deep depression in the earth's crust, due to which the crust in this place is very thin, Ancient geological processes have not yet completed here, and the consequence of this is the presence of active volcanoes in these places.
Nyiragongo is a stratovolcano; it has the shape of a wide and regular truncated cone and at its base merges with another volcano - Nyamlagira. At the top there is a well-shaped main crater with a diameter of 2000 m and a depth of 250 m. On the northern and southern slopes of the volcano, two side and more ancient secondary craters are visible - Baratu (3100 m) and Shaheru (2800 m).
On the slopes of the volcano there are hundreds of small ash cones formed as a result of lateral eruptions.
Two cooled lava terraces are clearly visible in the crater - at an altitude of 2975 and 3175 m. At the bottom of the main crater, a lava lake splashes with fiery flashes - the most extensive in modern history: its volume is 76 million m3.
The depth of the lake is unstable - about 600 m. The temperature of the lava reaches 982 ° C, and its splashes rise to a height of 7 to 30 m.
Nyiragongo lava is characterized by mobility (fluidity). The uniqueness of the volcano is that it is composed predominantly of fine-grained crystalline rocks containing more than 60% feldspathoid minerals with a predominance of light components. Unusually, neighboring Nyamlaghira and the South Kivu province are composed of alkali spar-dominated minerals. The magma of the volcano has a potassium composition and contains little silica. This explains its fluidity: lava flows reach speeds of 100 km/h, which is extremely unusual for stratovolcanoes.
Since 1882, 34 eruptions have been recorded, including periods when Nyiragongo's activity continued uninterrupted for many years, which manifested itself in the form of lava boiling in the crater of the lake. All this makes Nyiragongo one of the most active volcanoes in the world.
The proximity of the volcano to densely populated areas increases the likelihood of catastrophic consequences. In addition, the potential consequences of eruptions may be aggravated due to the unique properties of the Nyiragongo volcano - it has steep slopes along which lava flows rapidly. Lava lakes are not uncommon, there are many of them, for example, on, but they are not typical for stratovolcanoes.
The most notable recent eruptions occurred in 1977 and 2002. In 1977, the crater walls collapsed, lava rushed down the slope at a speed of about 100 km/h, and the lake was empty in less than 60 minutes. Lava covered several villages, killing 70 people. During the 2002 eruption, a 13-kilometer crack formed in the area of ​​the southern slope of the volcano. A lava flow ranging from 200 to 1000 m wide rushed into the city of Goma. 400 thousand people were urgently evacuated. Lava filled the stripes international airport, reached Lake Kivu and stopped. If it combined with water, it would explode and release a deadly mixture of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. 147 people suffocated from toxic fumes and died under the ruins of houses. 14 thousand buildings in Goma were destroyed, 350 thousand people. became homeless. This eruption was the most destructive in recent history.
Nyiragongo is not only very active, but also the least studied. Volcanologists do not risk studying it because of the war, which is already 20 recent years goes in the east of the DRC and in Rwanda.
For people who live near the volcano, it is both a blessing and a curse: mineral-rich volcanic ash enriches the soil, but the eruptions destroy farms.
The volcano is located on the territory National Park Virunga and listed World Heritage UNESCO.

general information

An active volcano in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Type: stratovolcano.
Location: Virunga Mountains, 20 km north of Lake Kivu.
The largest city: Goma, 377,112 people (2010).
Secondary craters: Barat (3100 m) and Shaher (2800 m).

Numbers

Height: 3470 m.
Crater diameter: 2000 m.
Crater depth: 250 m.
Depth lava lake: about 600 m.
Maximum lava lake level: 3250 m.
Minimum lava lake level: 2700 m.
Lava temperature: 982°C.

Economy

Agriculture: crop production, livestock breeding.
Cutting down bamboo and valuable wood species.
Service sector: transport.

Climate and weather

Equatorial, humid.
Average January temperature:+20°С.
Average temperature in July:+21°С.
Average annual precipitation: 1700 mm.
Daily temperature difference: 10-15°C.
Relative humidity: 77%.

Attractions

■ Nyiragongo Volcano;
■ Nyamlagira Volcano;
■ Lake Kivu;
■ National Park Virunga;
■ Gishwati Forest Reserve.

Once in the Virunga National Park in the Republic of Congo, you can easily believe that the domain of Sauron really exists. The boiling lava of the Nyiragongo volcano is in no way inferior to the fire-breathing Mordor. Nyiragong o is one of eight volcanoes in the Virunga Mountains, it is located 20 km north of the city of Goma and Lake Kivu. This is one of the most active volcanoes in Africa, in its crater (about 2 km wide) periodically formed hot lava lake.

The lava lake in Nyiragongo Crater is the largest in the world, its depth varies depending on the activity of the volcano: in different years it ranged from 3250 m to 600 m. Nyiragongo erupts very frequently, with 34 eruptions recorded since 1882.

Unique lake formed because the erupting lava is unusually liquid and flowing. This is caused by its special chemical composition - it contains very little quartz. Lava flows flowing along the slope of the volcano can reach speeds of 100 km/h, and occasionally they reach the city, posing a danger to residents.

Most dangerous eruption occurred on January 10, 1977, when lava broke the walls of the crater. The disaster took less than an hour to flood several nearby villages, killing at least 70 people (according to official figures). According to other sources, the number of victims reached several thousand.

During another largest eruption On January 17, 2002, the lava flow rushing towards the city was huge: up to 1000 m wide and up to 2 m deep. 400,000 people were evacuated from the city. Despite precautions, about 147 people died in the eruption from asphyxiation, carbon dioxide, and many buildings were destroyed by the earthquake.