MVP #5: Ardoukôba, Djibouti

OK, I admit it, this was a tough one. The MVP photo wasn’t entirely distinctive, but the basaltic rift volcano of Ardoukôba in this small African nation was the answer. Nice job, Anne, for narrowing down the possible locations and nailing it.

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MVP Standings (as of 9/25/2009)
nvolcanista – 1
nElizabeth – 1
nRalph – 1
nCam – 1
nAnne – 1

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nArdoukôba volcano in Djibouti.

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To give a little info on the volcano, Ardoukôba is a rift volcano that is part of the East African/Red Sea rift system in Djibouti. As the picture implies, the volcano is a low, broad rift extending 12 kilometers / 7.5 miles between Lake Asal and the Ghoubbat al Kharab Gulf (part of the Gulf of Aden). The only historical eruption of the volcano was in 1978, when there were lava flows, a brief lava lake and minor explosions (VEI ~1). The eruption built a small (100 m / ~300 foot) cone and 300 m / ~1000 foot ash plume. Ardoukôba is located in a very sparsely populated part of the planet, so no real threat exists from eruptions from the rift. There is still active fumarolic (steam vents) activity at the volcano as well.