This mountain, known among the Maasai as the “mountain of God”, is nothing more than an active volcano located in the northwest of Tanzania. Its name is Ol Doinyo Lengai and it stands 2,962 meters above sea level.
Why is it so particular? Its lava erupts at temperatures that never exceed 510 ° C, well below the minimum for basalt (1,000 ° C), one of the most common types of lava on the planet. A cold gray volcano. In fact, it is so cold that it is almost always black or gray, as not enough heat is radiated to make it appear red.
Its viscosity is also incredibly strange. Thanks to the lack of molecular chains of silica that form structures, this strange lava flows like water, creating meandering “rivers” and sliding down slopes with ease.
The type of lava that emanates from this rare volcano is known as “carbonatite,” which contains a large amount of alkaline elements, primarily calcium and sodium, along with a large amount of dissolved carbon dioxide. This particular lava is so rich in sodium that it is a ” natrocarbonatite”.
The melting point of all these molecular chains is much lower than any known type of lava , hence it explodes “so coldly”. This combination sometimes causes sources of black lava fire to surge through the sky, freezing in midair and breaking into pieces that blow away with the wind.
What if it explodes?
It is a fairly harmless volcano, even when it explosively erupts and produces a cloud of ash. It has a symmetrical cone with an age of 370,000 years, when it began its formation, until it ended approximately 15,000 years ago.
