Volcanoes in Sudan

Sudan has 4 Holocene volcanoes spread across two distinct volcanic provinces: the Darfur volcanic province in western Sudan, which hosts three of the four centres, and the Bayuda Desert in the northeast, home to the fourth. These are among the most overlooked volcanoes on Earth, situated in regions of conflict, extreme aridity, and profound remoteness. Yet they include some remarkable volcanic landscapes. [[volcano:marra-jebel|Jebel Marra]], rising to 3,042 m (9,980 ft) in Darfur, is the highest point in Sudan and contains the spectacular Deriba Caldera — a steep-walled, 5-km-wide collapse structure formed approximately 3,500 years ago during a powerful VEI 4 eruption that sent pyroclastic flows more than 30 km from the volcano.

The [[volcano:meidob-volcanic-field|Meidob Volcanic Field]], at the northeastern end of the Darfur province, covers 5,000 km² with nearly 700 Pliocene-to-Holocene vents — one of the densest volcanic fields in all of Africa. The [[volcano:bayuda-volcanic-field|Bayuda Volcanic Field]] in northeastern Sudan contains over 90 eruptive centres, with its youngest lava flow dated to approximately 1,100 years ago — making it the most recently active volcanic feature in Sudan. The [[volcano:kutum-volcanic-field|Kutum Volcanic Field]] rounds out the quartet with well-preserved cones and flows in northern Darfur.

Like neighbouring [[country:chad|Chad]]'s Tibesti volcanoes, Sudan's volcanic centres are intraplate features arising far from any plate boundary, likely driven by deep mantle thermal anomalies beneath the African continent. All four centres lack any form of volcanic monitoring.

Sudan's volcanoes, like those in [[country:chad|Chad]] and [[country:algeria|Algeria]], are intraplate centres — they erupt within the interior of the African Plate, far from any convergent or divergent plate boundary. The western Sudan volcanoes (Jebel Marra, Meidob, and Kutum) are associated with the Darfur Swell, a broad topographic uplift of the continental lithosphere that is thought to be caused by a thermal anomaly in the underlying mantle. This uplift — sometimes described as a minor hotspot or thermal plume — provides the heat needed to partially melt the mantle and generate magma.

The Darfur volcanic province has been active since at least the Tertiary period, with the oldest volcanic products dating back millions of years and the youngest confirmed eruptions within the Holocene. Some researchers link the Darfur volcanism to the broader Central African rift system, suggesting that diffuse extension related to the separation of Africa into the Nubian and Somali plates may propagate far-field stresses into central Africa. The Bayuda Volcanic Field in northeastern Sudan has a different tectonic context — it lies near the major Abu Hamed bend of the Nile River, where deep-seated Precambrian structures may have localised mantle upwelling.

All four volcanic fields produce predominantly basaltic magmas, consistent with decompression melting of the upper mantle, though Meidob also includes more evolved phonolitic and trachytic products.

**Jebel Marra** — The most prominent volcano in Sudan, [[volcano:marra-jebel|Jebel Marra]] is a vast volcanic field in the Darfur province that reaches 3,042 m (9,980 ft) — the highest point in the country. Its defining feature is the Deriba Caldera, a 5-km-wide, steep-walled collapse structure at the southern end of the field, formed approximately 3,500 years ago during a powerful eruption that ejected voluminous airfall pumice and pyroclastic flows that travelled more than 30 km. This VEI 4 event is the largest known eruption in Sudan's Holocene record.

The caldera contains a small pyroclastic cone and a crater lake. The northern part of the field displays trachytic lava plugs, young basaltic scoria cones, and lava flows. Fumarolic activity has been observed within the caldera. [[ext:https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=225030|Smithsonian GVP: Jebel Marra]]

**Meidob Volcanic Field** — The [[volcano:meidob-volcanic-field|Meidob Volcanic Field]] covers approximately 5,000 km² in western Sudan, containing nearly 700 Pliocene-to-Holocene vents — making it one of the most prolific volcanic fields in Africa by vent count. Basaltic scoria cones dominate, producing a broad lava plateau, but the central part contains younger phonolitic lava flows, trachytic pumice deposits, ignimbrites, and maars. Six confirmed Holocene eruptions span from approximately 6050 BCE to 2950 BCE, with the youngest producing a tuff ring and a lava flow.

Three of the Holocene eruptions reached VEI 4. [[ext:https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=225050|Smithsonian GVP: Meidob]]

**Bayuda Volcanic Field** — The [[volcano:bayuda-volcanic-field|Bayuda Volcanic Field]] is located in the Bayuda Desert of northeastern Sudan, south of the major Abu Hamed bend of the Nile River, approximately 300 km north of Khartoum. More than 90 eruptive centres follow a WNW-ESE alignment constructed over Precambrian and Paleozoic granitic rocks. Most vents are cinder cones that produced lava flows.

About 10% of vents are explosion craters, the largest — Hosh ed Dalam — is 1.3 km wide and up to 500 m deep. The youngest lava flow has been dated to approximately 1,100 years ago (roughly 850 CE), making the Bayuda field Sudan's most recently active volcanic feature. [[ext:https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=225060|Smithsonian GVP: Bayuda]]

**Kutum Volcanic Field** — The [[volcano:kutum-volcanic-field|Kutum Volcanic Field]] (also known as the Tagabo Hills or Berti Hills) is located in northern Darfur, southwest of the larger Meidob field. Like other Saharan volcanic fields, Kutum contains well-preserved cones, lava flows, and explosion craters. Their age is debated: morphologically they appear young, but Franz et al. (1997) assigned only Tertiary ages to samples, creating uncertainty about whether the field truly has Holocene activity.

It remains in the Smithsonian database based on the uncertain evidence.

Sudan's confirmed eruption record includes 8 events across three volcanic centres, spanning from approximately 6050 BCE to 850 CE. The Meidob Volcanic Field has the most detailed record, with six confirmed eruptions between approximately 6050 and 2950 BCE. Three of these reached VEI 4 — significant explosive eruptions that produced tuff rings and ignimbrite deposits.

The most recent Meidob eruption, around 2950 BCE, was a relatively small event (VEI 0) from a single vent. Jebel Marra's sole confirmed Holocene eruption — the caldera-forming event approximately 2000 BCE — was the most powerful in Sudan's record, a VEI 4 event that ejected airfall pumice and sent pyroclastic flows more than 30 km from the volcano. Some researchers have suggested that smaller ash eruptions may have continued into early historical time, and fumarolic activity within the caldera has been observed, but no confirmed post-caldera eruptions are documented.

The Bayuda Volcanic Field's youngest known eruption, a lava flow dated to approximately 850 CE, is Sudan's most recent confirmed volcanic event. The Kutum field has no confirmed Holocene eruptions. Sudan's eruption record is certainly incomplete, particularly for the remote Darfur volcanic fields where scientific access has been extremely limited.

The volcanic hazards from Sudan's volcanoes are currently low in immediacy but non-negligible over geological timescales. Jebel Marra poses the greatest potential concern: the Deriba Caldera's VEI 4 eruption 3,500 years ago demonstrated that this volcanic centre is capable of producing pyroclastic flows extending 30+ km from the volcano. The Jebel Marra region, despite the ongoing Darfur conflict, is home to several hundred thousand people in surrounding communities.

A future eruption could generate pyroclastic flows, ashfall, lahars (if eruptions interact with seasonal rains), and volcanic gas emissions. The Meidob field's history of VEI 4 eruptions indicates explosive potential, though the sparse population reduces human risk. The Bayuda Volcanic Field's proximity to the Nile Valley — approximately 300 km north of Khartoum — means that a significant eruption could produce ashfall over populated areas.

There is no volcanic monitoring whatsoever at any of Sudan's volcanic centres — no seismic networks, no gas measurements, no ground deformation studies.

Sudan's four Holocene volcanoes are distributed across two distinct zones separated by approximately 700 km. The Darfur volcanic province in western Sudan contains three centres: Jebel Marra (12.95°N, 24.27°E) in central Darfur, the Meidob Volcanic Field (15.32°N, 26.47°E) to the northeast, and the Kutum Volcanic Field (14.57°N, 25.85°E) between them. These three form a roughly northeast-trending alignment across the Darfur Swell.

The Bayuda Volcanic Field (18.33°N, 32.75°E) is isolated in northeastern Sudan, south of the Nile's Abu Hamed bend. The Darfur centres occupy elevated terrain (1,779–3,042 m) on the Darfur Swell, while the Bayuda field sits at much lower elevation (670 m) in the desert lowlands.

Jebel Marra holds profound cultural significance for the Fur people of Darfur, from whom the region takes its name. The mountain has served as a refuge, water source, and cultural heart of Fur civilisation for centuries. The Deriba Caldera lake is a source of freshwater in an otherwise semi-arid landscape, and the volcanic slopes support agriculture — including terraced farms and fruit orchards — at higher elevations where rainfall is greater.

The Meidob Hills are home to the Meidob people, who have adapted to the volcanic landscape. The name 'Jebel Marra' has become internationally known in a tragic context — the mountain and its surroundings were central to the Darfur conflict that began in 2003, and the area has witnessed significant displacement and humanitarian crisis. The Bayuda Desert's volcanic features lie in a region historically connected to the ancient Nubian kingdoms and the caravan routes along the Nile.

Visiting Sudan's volcanoes is currently extremely difficult and in most cases inadvisable. The Darfur region, where Jebel Marra, Meidob, and Kutum are located, has experienced armed conflict since 2003 and remains highly insecure. Travel advisories from most governments warn against all travel to Darfur.

Even in peacetime, the volcanic centres are extremely remote, lacking roads, infrastructure, and tourist facilities. The Deriba Caldera at Jebel Marra was occasionally visited by adventurous travellers before the conflict escalated, and it remains one of the most dramatic volcanic landscapes in Africa — a caldera with a crater lake surrounded by steep walls up to 300 m high. The Bayuda Volcanic Field is more accessible, lying in a relatively safer part of northeastern Sudan approximately 300 km north of Khartoum.

However, there are no organised tours or infrastructure. For those who can access it, the volcanic landscapes — well-preserved cinder cones, explosion craters, and lava flows set against desert plains — are striking. Until security conditions improve significantly, Sudan's volcanoes remain effectively off-limits to tourism.