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  Image: Geographic Location Direction Photo #: ISS063-E-104178 Date: Oct. 2020
Geographic Region: TANZANIA
Feature: OL DOINYO LENGAI VOLCANO, LAVA FLOWS

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Ol Doinyo Lengai - known to the local Maasai people as the "Mountain of God" - is a stratovolcano in Tanzania with unique geological characteristics. This photograph, taken by an astronaut from the International Space Station (ISS), captures the symmetric volcano as well as canyons and lava flows formed by previous volcanic activity.

The summit of Ol Doinyo Lengai is topped by a light-colored ash cone and crater, the site of the most recent eruptive activity. It also has developed numerous side vents that surround its cone. Active and ephemeral stream channels cut through the volcano's flanks, with the majority feeding into Lake Natron (just out of frame to the north).

Like many volcanoes in the area, this cone formed in response to the development of the East African Rift system and has been intermittently active for the past 15,000 years. This region of Africa has been tectonically active for more than 25 million years, resulting in highly variable topography compared to much of the continent. This divergent plate boundary caused the building of the two highest peaks in Africa - Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya - which are located near Ol Doinyo Lengai to the east and north.

Ol Doinyo Lengai is the only active volcano known to emit natrocarbonatites (//sci.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/Unusual lava.html), a rare type of volcanic rock that is rich in sodium, potassium, and calcium carbonate, but low in silica. Lava with less silica has a lower viscosity, leading Ol Doinyo Lengai to have some of the fastest flowing lava in the world. In this photo, the volcano has several light-colored lava flows on its flanks. Initially dark lavas can lighten rapidly due to chemical reactions with rainwater and moisture (//legacy.earlham.edu/~graveti/oldoinyolengai.htm) in the air.


 
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Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 565k
Mission: ISS063  
Roll - Frame: E - 104178
Geographical Name: TANZANIA  
Features: OL DOINYO LENGAI VOLCANO, LAVA FLOWS  
Center Lat x Lon: 2.7S x 35.9E
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 10
 
Camera: N8
 
Camera Tilt: 34   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 800  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: SW   The direction from the nadir to the center point, N=North, S=South, E=East, W=West
Stereo?:   Y=Yes there is an adjacent picture of the same area, N=No there isn't
Orbit Number:  
 
Date: 20201006   YYYYMMDD
Time: 070331   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 0.4S  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 37.1E  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 99   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 227   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 56   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
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Man Made Views:  
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Photo is not associated with any sequences


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