Lake Kivu is surrounded by two volcanic regions, the Virunga Volcanic Province (VVP) in the North and the South-Kivu Volcanic Province (SKVP) in the South. Only the VVP is currently active.
The Virunga Volcanic Province
Centered in the accomodation zone between the Edward (North) and Kivu (South) rift basins, the VVP is composed by 8 main edifices and hundreds of pyroclastic cones scattered in the lava plain. The main volanoes are, from West to East, Nyamulagira (3058 m), Nyiragongo (3470 m), Mikeno (4437 m), Karisimbi (4507 m), Visoke (3711 m), Sabinyo (3634 m), Gahinga (3474 m) and Muhavura (4127 m).
Volcanic activity
The two currently active volcanoes of the VVP are Nyiragongo and Nyamulagira. The other main volcanoes are considered as “dormant”. However, in August 1st 1957, a small eruption occured in the field of these dormant volcanoes and was attributed, without certainty, to Visoke (Verhaeghe, 1958), which is the closest main volcanic edifice.
More information about the current volcanic activity and their related hazards are available in the following pages:
