Mount Cameroon, also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its native name Mongo ma Ndemi ("Mountain of Greatness"), is an active volcano in Cameroon, near the Gulf of Guinea. It is part of the area of volcanic activity known as the Cameroon Volcanic Line, which also includes Lake Nyos, the site of the 1986 Lake Nyos tragedy. The volcano last erupted on March 28, 1999 and May 28, 2000.

Mount Cameroon is one of Africa's largest volcanoes, rising to 4095 metres above the coast of west Cameroon. The massive steep-sided volcano of dominantly basaltic-to-trachybasaltic composition forms a volcanic horst constructed above a basement of Precambrian metamorphic rocks covered with Cretaceous to Quaternary sediments. More than 100 small cinder cones, often fissure-controlled parallel to the long axis of the massive 1400 cu km volcano, occur on the flanks and surrounding lowlands. A large satellitic peak, Etinde (also known as Little Cameroon), is located on the southern flank near the coast. Historical activity, the most frequent of west African volcanoes, was first observed in the 5th century BC by the Carthaginian navigator Hannon. During historical time, moderate explosive and effusive eruptions have occurred from both summit and flank vents. A 1922 SW-flank eruption produced a lava flow that reached the Atlantic coast, and a lava flow from a 1999 south-flank eruption stopped only 200 m from the sea.

The peak can be reached by hikers, while the annual Mount Cameroon Race scales the peak in around 4½ hours.

English explorer Mary Kingsley, one of the first Europeans to scale the mountain, recounts her expedition in her 1897 memoir Travels in West Africa.

Elevation

The 4,095m elevation given here is supported by most authorities, but an elevation of 4,070m is given by some, and SRTM and GPS evidence suggests that it could be as low as 4,040m. The elevation is further complicated by volcanic activity.

Sources

External links

• Global Volcanism Program, Cameroon
• Mount Cameroon Research Foundation

Stratovolcanoes | Volcanoes of Cameroon | Mountains of Cameroon | Mbéré Rift Valley | Rift volcanoes | Active volcanoes

Kamerunberg | Mont Cameroun | Kamerun (mlima) | Mount Cameroon | Kamerun (wulkan) | Monte Camarões | Kamerun (gora)