Bishoftu Volcanic Field

Volcanic field in Ethiopia

Key Facts

Elevation

1,850 m (6,070 ft)

Type

Volcanic field

Location

8.780°, 38.980°

Region

Main Ethiopian Rift Volcanic Province

Rock Type

Basalt / Picro-Basalt

Tectonic Setting

Rift zone

Location

Loading map...

Overview

The Bishoftu volcanic field, also known as Debre Zeit, consists of an area of fissure-fed Holocene lava flows, cinder cones, tuff rings, and maars. Several of the maars are filled by lakes, which are popular recreational destinations from the nearby capital city of Addis Ababa. Most of the craters and cones are aligned NE-SW, parallel to the direction of the Ethiopian Rift Valley.

The 750 x 1000 m Haro Maja tuff ring and its neighbor, lake-filled Kilole, are offset to the east. The cones and maars of the volcanic field were erupted through rhyolitic welded tuffs.

Volcanic Hazards & Risk Assessment

Primary Hazards

Risk Level

Population at RiskModerate

Infrastructure RiskModerate

Aviation RiskSignificant

Geological Composition & Structure

Rock Types

Primary

Basalt / Picro-Basalt

Silica Content

Low (45-52% SiO₂)

Tectonic Setting

Rift zone

Continental rift or intraplate setting with varied eruptive styles.

Age & Formation

Epoch

Holocene

Evidence

Evidence Credible

Eruption Statistics & Analysis

Metric	Value	Global Ranking	Significance
Total Recorded Eruptions	Unknown	Low	Moderately active volcano
Maximum VEI	VEI Unknown	Minor	Local impact potential
Recent Activity	Unknown	Historical	Historically active

Monitoring & Alert Status

Monitoring Networks

Global Volcanism Program

International eruption database

Current Status

Normal

No recent activity. Routine monitoring continues.

Nearby Volcanoes in Eastern Africa Volcanic Regions

Regional Volcanic Activity

The Eastern Africa Volcanic Regions contains multiple active volcanic systems. Cross-regional magma interactions and tectonic stresses can influence eruption patterns across the entire arc. Monitor regional seismic activity and volcanic alerts.

Quick Info

•Smithsonian ID: 221220
•Evidence: Evidence Credible
•Epoch: Holocene

About the Photo

The Bishoftu volcanic field is a chain of lake-filled maars (dark-colored in this Landsat image), tuff cones, and scoria cones, lies along the Ethiopian Rift Valley. The city of Debre Zeit (left-center) lies between two maars, the irregular-shaped Lake Hora and the circular Lake Bishoftu. The Haro Maja tuff ring and its neighbor to the west, lake-filled Kilole maar (upper right), are offset to the east.

NASA Landsat image, 1999 (courtesy of Hawaii Synergy Project, Univ. of Hawaii Institute of Geophysics & Planetology).