The Eastern Congo 



some eight hundred and fifty yards in breadth at its longest 

 diameter, and situated directly in the centre of a flat crater- 

 floor of fine lapilli and yellow ash. The fumaroles consist of 

 semi-circular cracks or fissures running parallel to the lip of the 

 vent, and giving the impression that the crater-floor is under- 

 mined from below and will collapse one day into the eruptive 

 shaft itself, as has previously occurred. The fumaroles 

 continually give forth a thick white vapour and the shaft a 

 yellowish smoke. No glow is perceptible from this volcano 

 at night. 



Namlagira — which is 10,046 feet above sea level, and 

 the foot of which adjoins that of Ninagongo, as seen from the 

 south-east or east, is indistinguishable from a broad, flat- 

 topped mountain except for the huge column of white smoke 

 that it continually puts forth from the eastern end of its 

 vast crater. This terraced crater, which is said to be one and 

 a half miles across, has the ruins of an old and former crater 

 projecting towards its centre from the east side, forming a 

 kind of core to the present one. There are numerous active 

 parasitic craters on the southern side. Both the southern 

 and eastern slopes are composed of congealed rivers of lava 

 which have piled themselves one against another in their 

 course, fold upon fold of lava being interspersed by bands 

 and lines of forest and brushwood which reach nearly to the 

 summit. At night, this volcano, which is the most active 

 in the entire range, presents a magnificent sight as it reflects 

 a bright and steady glow on its own column of smoke and on 

 any clouds that may have formed within its radius. 



Karisimbi — this extinct volcano is the highest in the 

 Virunga range, as its beautifully modelled peak reaches an 

 altitude of 14,780 feet above sea level. It has two craters, 



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