Tanzania's 'Mountain of God' erupts

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2007

NAIROBI (AFP) — Tanzania's only active volcano, Oldonyo Lengai, has erupted, spewing smoke and ash into the country's northern skies and causing a brief panic among residents, a Kenyan official said Friday.

The 3,200-meter-high (10,500 feet) volcano, whose name means "Mountain of God" in Swahili, started oozing lava.

"Mount Oldonyo Lengai ... the source of the tremors we have been experiencing, is currently spewing smoke and some lava," Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua said in a statement.

"However, the eruption is a very mild one. Scientists believe this has reduced the pressure that was there, hence the decrease of the tremors."

A series of tremors, originating in nearby Lake Natron, have rocked much of northeastern Tanzania over the past...