Editing Shield volcano (section)

=== East Africa ===

In East Africa, volcanic activity is generated by the development of the [[East African Rift]] and from nearby hotspots. Some volcanoes interact with both. Shield volcanoes are found near the rift and off the coast of Africa, although stratovolcanoes are more common. Although sparsely studied, the fact that all of its volcanoes are of Holocene age reflects how young the volcanic center is. One interesting characteristic of East African volcanism is a penchant for the formation of [[lava lake]]s; these semi-permanent lava bodies, extremely rare elsewhere, form in about 9% of African eruptions.<ref name=usgs-africa>{{cite web|title=Africa Volcanoes and Volcanics|url=http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Africa/description_africa_volcanics.html|publisher=United States Geological Survey|access-date=28 February 2011|author=Lyn Topinka|date=2 October 2003}}</ref>

The most active shield volcano in Africa is [[Nyamuragira]]. Eruptions at the shield volcano are generally centered within the large summit caldera or on the numerous fissures and cinder cones on the volcano's flanks. Lava flows from the most recent century extend down the flanks more than {{convert|30|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} from the summit, reaching as far as [[Lake Kivu]]. [[Erta Ale]] in Ethiopia is another active shield volcano and one of the few places in the world with a permanent lava lake, which has been active since at least 1967, and possibly since 1906.<ref name=usgs-africa/> Other volcanic centers include [[Menengai]], a massive shield caldera,<ref>{{cite web|title=Menengai|url=http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0202-06=|work=[[Global Volcanism Program]]|publisher=Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History|access-date=28 February 2011}}</ref> and [[Mount Marsabit]] in Kenya.
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