Tanzania's Mountain of God May Erupt Anytime Soon
An active volcano in northeastern Tanzania has recently been showing signs that it may erupt anytime soon. Ol Doinyo Lengai, whose name in Maasai means "Mountain of God," has been more or less dormant since early 2009, but it once again experienced a high level of volcanic activity.
The pastoralist ethnic group of Maasai believed that their god, Engai dwelled, in the holy mountain — thus the name. Ol Doinyo Lengai has had experienced at least a dozen eruptions since 1883.
Author Tepilit Ole Saitoti wrote his experience during the 1966 eruption in the book "Worlds of a Maasai Warrior."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
In it, he said: "There must have been more than enough reason for God to have unleashed Her anger on us and all we could do was pray for mercy. My pastoral people stubbornly braved the gusting warm winds as they approached the flaming mountain to pray. Women and men dressed in their best walked in stately lines towards God, singing. The mountain was unappeased and cattle died in the thousands."
In 2016, observers positioned five sensors around the volcano and recorded data showing parts of the volcano causing upward earthquakes, prompting them to warn that an eruption is imminent. By "imminent," they mean in one second, in a few weeks, a couple of months, or a year or more.
Since then, an international team of geophysicists set up a monitoring system that collected data of volcanic activity in real time. Other warning signs noted since January are increased gas emissions, the widening crack at the top of the volcano on the west side and volcanic deformation.
The impending eruption has sparked fears that it could destroy important paleoanthropological sites, International Business Times reported. Hundreds of prehistoric human footprints found near the 7,650-tall volcano tell of stories of early human ancestors that roamed Africa more than 3.6 million years ago.
