The Canary Islands are 7 volcanic islands off the coast of Africa. They are but the peaks of several massive shield volcanoes that have grown from the bottom of the ocean over the past 30 million years. The islands are older in the east, and younger in the west. Six out of seven are still…
Introduction In part one I took a close look at the large scale forces that drive volcanism in Africa, at continental rifting in its different stages and the types of magma chemistry that form because of it. I also discussed the origin of the forces that created Nyiragongo and Virunga in the first place. In…
Some days ago I got into a rather enthralling conversation about weird magma types. It revolved around a particular kind of magma called nephelinite. Some of you may know about this magma variety. Or perhaps not. It is after all a word that doesn’t show up as frequently as basalt or rhyolite. If this name…