Mount Nyiragongo is an active
stratovolcano with an elevation of 3470 m (11382 ft) in the
Virunga Mountains associated with the
Albertine Rift. It is located inside
Virunga National Park, in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, about north of the town of
Goma and
Lake Kivu and just west of the border with
Rwanda. The main crater is about two kilometres wide and usually contains a
lava lake. The crater presently has two distinct cooled
lava benches within the crater walls - one at about and a lower one at about . Nyiragongo's lava lake has at times been the most voluminous known lava lake in recent history. The depth of the lava lake varies considerably. A maximum elevation of the lava lake was recorded at about prior to the January 1977 eruption - a lake depth of about . A recent very low elevation of the lava lake was recorded at about . Nyiragongo and nearby
Nyamuragira are together responsible for 40% of
Africa's historical
volcanic eruptions.