Photo: Mysterious African Volcano Still Erupting

Oct 3, 2011

By OurAmazingPlanet Staff

False-color image of the Nabro Volcano taken by NASA's EO-1 satellite on September 28. Credit: NASA.

Satellite images suggest that a restive east African volcano is continuing to simmer — after erupting in more spectacular fashion earlier this summer — in an isolated region where eyewitness accounts are few and far between.

The Nabro Volcano, which lies near the border of Ethiopia and Eritrea, has been erupting since the middle of June. The new images indicate lava is flowing from the 7,280-foot (2,218-meter) peak, which is the tallest of several volcanoes in the region.

Heat from vents in Nabro's central crater is visible as a red glow in this color-enhanced image.

The area south of the crater is dark, blackened by a thick layer of ash that nearly covers the sparse vegetation that grows in this lonely region near the southern tip of the Red Sea.

Just months ago, Nabro rumbled to life for the first time in recorded history. The mountain spewed forth a thick plume of ash, disrupting air travel, and sent rivers of lava running down its sides.

The eruption killed seven people and affected thousands more, according to the Eritrean government.