Transcript Mt. Cameroon, Cameroon McKayla Blanch and Caroline Ferguson Dept. of Geology, Colby College (https://www.flickr.com/photos/88821481@N00/1647496982/in/photolist-3vzRso-cxDfaL-ctH1dq-ctGYPb-ctGZHu-ctGZfw-ctH1Jf-cxEPbd-ctH2eq-ctH3vq-ctH3d1-ctH8j7-ctH2Sw-ctH8Jj-ctH4m7-ctH5Yh-ctHaGs-ctH6Bj-5Y2rUp-ctH7UA-ctH4Do-cxEQoJ-ctH531-ctH95UctH9D1-ctH5ub-ctHabA-ctH75Q-ctH3RY-7FEmh6-cx6ZJu-cx71wh-cx717C-9a1M1G-5Y6DGf-8giBNa-8w4cV2-cxENHA-5uqsgT-515uTd-eaLCA4-7JBen8-ctHb6S-cxDbru-ctH7wj-eMQBmE-ctH2z3-6NDn8h-6NDnkA-6NDnfw)

Mt. Cameroon, Cameroon
McKayla Blanch and Caroline Ferguson
Dept. of Geology, Colby College
(https://www.flickr.com/photos/88821481@N00/1647496982/in/photolist-3vzRso-cxDfaL-ctH1dq-ctGYPb-ctGZHu-ctGZfw-ctH1Jf-cxEPbd-ctH2eq-ctH3vq-ctH3d1-ctH8j7-ctH2Sw-ctH8Jj-ctH4m7-ctH5Yh-ctHaGs-ctH6Bj-5Y2rUp-ctH7UA-ctH4Do-cxEQoJ-ctH531-ctH95UctH9D1-ctH5ub-ctHabA-ctH75Q-ctH3RY-7FEmh6-cx6ZJu-cx71wh-cx717C-9a1M1G-5Y6DGf-8giBNa-8w4cV2-cxENHA-5uqsgT-515uTd-eaLCA4-7JBen8-ctHb6S-cxDbru-ctH7wj-eMQBmE-ctH2z3-6NDn8h-6NDnkA-6NDnfw)
Basic Information
●
●
●
●
●
Stratovolcano
West Coast of Africa
Native name: Mongo ma Ndemi (“Mountain of
Greatness”)
Elevation: 13,435 ft (4,095 m)
o Highest point in sub-Saharan western and
central Africa
Elliptical shape
(http://www.panoramio.com/photo/101650622)
(http://www.panoramio.com/photo/17261257)
(http://www.skimountaineer.com/ROF/ROF.php?name=Cameroon)
Photo Credit: Evan Schiff, flickr
The Cameroon Volcanic Line
- Chain of volcanoes
- Rifting fissures in Earth’s crust
- Pathway of hot spots
(http://www.calacademy.org/blogs/gulf-of-guinea-expeditions/the-race-sixth-gulf-ofguinea-expedition-redux)
(http://elliotiproject2014.e-monsite.com/pages/north-west-region-of-cameroon.html)
Central African Shear Zone
(http://www.carnets-voyage.com/afrique-cameroun-circuit20-jours-limbe.htm)
- Wrench fault system
- NNE-direction
(http://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/335/1/827/F11.expansion)
(http://qualityexpeditions.com/getpage.php?pg=trip&tid=116)
- Fissure forming continental portion of Cameroon
Line
- Mt. Cameroon
Structure
●
●
Cinder cones and lava flow deposits
Hundreds of cinder cones (large and small) form peaks and true summit
Two major peaks…
o
Fako: Larger (highest point); another name for Mt. Cameroon
itself
o Etinde: Smaller (“Little/Small Mt. Cameroon”) cone-shaped
Two major maars…
structure
○ Debundscha Point: Larger maar, hidden beach coves on slopes
○ Bomana: Small waterfall (“Bomana Falls”), water falling from 100
meters
http://www.dtop10list.com/2014/09/top-10-wettest-places-on-Earth.html
(http://bit.ly/1idwvld)
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=2225435
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/101650597
https://trailsurfers.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/climbingmount-cameroon/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Cameroon
http://globaltrees.org/projects/building-capacity-threatened-treeconservation-mount-cameroon/
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/17579067
https://cameroontourismlink.wordpress.com/mount-cameroon-2/
Eruptions and Volcanic Hazards
●
Active volcano with 20 confirmed eruptions
Mt. Cameroon produces and is
0450BCE
1852
1909
1982
produced
by1865
three main
types
of
1650
1922
1989
volcanic
activity:
1807
1866
1925
1999
1825
●
●
1868
1954
2000
1838
1871
1959
2012
● Effusive
eruptions
Most
recent eruption February
3, 2012
● Explosive
activity
Devastating
eruption in May of 2000,
killing 23 people
● Hydromagmatic
activity
●
1982 eruption, two towns evacuated and damage to plantations
●
Usually strombolian eruptions
Lava flow during 1999 eruption
(http://www.geology.bas.bg/mineralogy/gmp_files/gmp47/tsafack.pdf)
(http://www.volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=224010)
Volcanic Hazards cont’d
● Debundscha Point, some of heaviest
rainfall in the world
● Population of ~500,000 live around the
volcano
● Lake Nyos, a volcanic lake, releases CO2
into atmosphere, killing livestock and 1,700
people
http://www.volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=22403
0
Mugearite
Alkaline Basalt
Rocks and deposits
● Volcanic Rocks
o
Sodic alkaline series
 Basanites
 Alkaline basalts
 Hawaiites
 Mugearites
● Minerals
o
o
o
Olivine
Plagioclase
Alkali feldspar
http://www.virtualmicroscope.org/content/mugearite
Hawaiite
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hawaiite
http://www.gopixpic.com/300/alkali-olivine-basalt-central-islandlaketurkana-northern-kenya/http:%7C%7Cwww*petrologyslides*com%7CAlkaliOlivineBasalt
Kena*jpg/
Basanite
http://www.lavevolcans.com/glossaire.php?mot=basanite
Other Interesting Info
●
●
●
Home to three unique bird species!
Tourism:
o
~1,000 people trek the
Mountain/yr
o
Black-sand beach in Limbe
o Mountain
Marathon
Geothermal
Energy
o
●
Limbe Beach
http://cameroonconrods.blogspot.com/2010/05/limbe-beach-part-1.html
Potential research for Cameroon
Rich volcanic soils support bananas, rubber, oil
palms and tea
Mount Cameroon Francolin
http://www.peuplesawa.com/newspics/892.gif
Geophysical/active monitoring
Monitoring volcanic activity
with seismometers to help predict if
and when an eruption is probable
Bibliography
"Cameroon." Global Volcanism Program | Cameroon. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2015. <http://www.volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=224010#bgvn_200006>.
"Mount Cameroon Race of Hope Marathon - The Official Globe Trekker Website." The Official Globe Trekker Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2015.
<http://www.pilotguides.com/articles/mount-cameroon-race-of-hope-marathon/>.
"Mt. Cameroon National Park." Mount Cameroon Trekking. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2015. <http://www.mountcameroon-trekking.com/en/site/showPage/5>.
Seach, John. "Mt Cameroon Volcano." Volcano Live. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2015. <http://www.volcanolive.com/mtcameroon.html>.
Suh, C. E., R. S. J. Sparks, J. G. Fitton, S. N. Ayonghe, C. Annen, R. Nana, and A. Luckman. "The 1999 and 2000 Eruptions of Mount Cameroon: Eruption
Behaviour and Petrochemistry of Lava." Bulletin of Volcanology 47 (2009): 65-78. Web.
Tsafack, Jean-Paul F., Pierre Wandji, Jacques-Marie Bardintzef, Hervé Bellon, and Hervé Guillou. "The Mount Cameroon Stratovolcano (Cameroon Volcanic
Line, Central Africa): Petrology, Geochemistry, Isotope and Age Data." GEOCHEMISTRY, MINERALOGY AND PETROLOGY 47 (2009): 65-78. Web.
"Volcano World." What Is Known about the Volcanoes of Cameroon? N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2015. <http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/what-known-aboutvolcanoes-cameroon>.