The Oasis Volcano in the Saharan Desert; Waw an Namus in Libya

Within Libya is a dark black patch of ground easily visible from satellite. This marks the location of the Waw an Namus volcano and has a magnificent oasis contained within its central caldera. This video will discuss the remote volcano, why it might exist, and interpret its possible eruptive history.
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Source of Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) methodology and criteria: Newhall, C. G., and Self, S. (1982), The volcanic explosivity index (VEI) an estimate of explosive magnitude for historical volcanism, J. Geophys. Res., 87(C2), 1231-1238, doi:10.1029/JC087iC02p01231. Accessed / Read by / geologyhub on Oct 5th, 2022.
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Google Earth imagery used in this video: ©Google & Data Providers
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Sources/Citations:
[1] Bardintzeff, JM., Deniel, C., Guillou, H. et al. Miocene to recent alkaline volcanism between Al Haruj and Waw an Namous (southern Libya). Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 101, 1047-1063 (2012). doi.org/10.1007/s00531-011-07...
[2] Informador.mx, NTX, 2013, www.informador.mx/Tecnologia/...
[3] Al-Rashed, Ahmed & Shaaban, Fouad & Yousef, Ahmed. (2019). The Geothermal Regime in Sirt Basin, Libya: The Geological Role and Heat Flow Studies. International Journal of Geosciences. 10. 57-79. 10.4236/ijg.2019.101005. CC BY 4.0
[4] Alaska Volcano Observatory
[5] Cascades Volcano Observatory
[6] U.S. Geological Survey
0:00 A Volcanic Oasis
2:24 Geologic Setting
2:59 Large Eruption
3:31 Caldera Collapse
4:06 Conclusion

[@adamrockstar27]

This is nuts. I was looking at google earth last night before i went to sleep and was exploring the Sahara. Came across this black patch and saw all the volcanoes in the area and was thinking how i wanted to know more and not even 6 hours later you post this video. This weird as hell

[@b.a.erlebacher1139]

Oh, well, he's got more than 200,000 subscribers all interested in geology and volcanoes, so how likely is it that one of them was wondering about a particular site just before he uploaded a video about it, and then posted about the coincidence? Considering how often GH uploads videos about obscure places? But, yeah, subjectively it must feel pretty weird! ;-)

[@AJDaBaws]

I explore Google Earth every once in a while just for fun and I clicked on this video because I remembered finding this oasis by accident. It's nice to know that I'm not the only person who likes exploring random areas on Google Earth 😅

[@danielleknight7411]

It is really cool to see just how preserved this eruption is in the desert environment. I really like how you can still see the direction the ash was carried at the time of the eruption, and the clear cut outline of the (probable) pyroclastic flows. Even if this eruption was relatively young at 20,000+ years, (hell, even if its much older) it still blows my mind that you can still visibly see the conditions of the surrounding landscape at the time of the eruption, such as the direction of windfall of ash.

[@GeologyHub]

I agree. This is why I especially love the black rock desert volcano, Santa Clara volcano, pinacate volcano, and amboy cinder cone

[@WarAndFame]

The red border on the video almost made me pass it up thinking id already watched it

[@rh5563]

That is a good point to bring up. Thank you. 👍👍👍

[@sam27ellsmere]

I always think that too

[@OndriaDancingStar]

Same...I was confused because I didn't know about this volcano but I thought the red meant I had already watched it!😂

[@aborch7]

Same thing happened to me!!

[@kishensookoo7815]

Sams here, not sure why it's there

[@snigwithasword1284]

You have such a talent for interpreting satellite images, I shudder to think what you could do with the time and budget to venture out there in person.

[@stevejohnson3357]

Plate tectonics is such an interesting subject. Most activity can be found in the collision and spreading of the major plates but there is a lot going on with minor plates and basins.

[@Novarupta.]

I had always thought it could've been a small hotspot that may have cooled versus one that moved like the craters of the moon of the Jackson volcano to Bermuda. Very insightful video!

[@saukhaven]

You create the most fascinating educational videos. Much admiration and many thanks!

[@tHebUm18]

Ayyy, finally a video on one of the odd seeming Saharan Desert volcanoes that cropped up in maps used in previous videos! Cool!

[@freedomisntfree4836]

This was really fascinating!

[@nickcarter7297]

I would love you to do one on the tropical island of Rarotonga (Cook Islands). There are lava tubes in the reef

[@geolyn]

Fascinating. I now want to go there .......

[@sipkeschilstra]

Thank you for finally making this video! I remember asking for you to make this video on twitter a few months ago and you said that you were, so, thank you.

[@Tasarte]

Finally!! The Sahara is a volcano treasure

[@Kiyoone]

wow (impressed sound) this is incredible. Because of you i have more and more interest in studying geology...

[@KatheHanna]

I request a video on the tamanowas meteor in british columbia :) love your videons

[@kevinsavage5068]

Hi. The suggested age of 25000 ago means the Sahara desert wasn’t in existence and the area was green (en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahara). Was that included in your estimate of age along side the Mexican desert volcano? May it alter any estimate?

[@ian_b]

Just to be a pedant, the plural of "oasis" is "oases" not "oasises". Otherwise, loved the video as usual. Don't hate me for being a pedant, it's genetic or something.

[@billmiller4972]

Perfect scenery for a Quartermain movie. Green oasis amidst strange black sand, egyptian hieroglyphs, diamonds lying aroung like pebbbles, ancient berber tribes, a beautiful queen ....

[@LostCylon]

I wonder if the lessened erosion is because of the almost zero rainfall in the area, whereas Pinacate recieves almost 3 times as much annual rainfall, over an average of 36 days per year, vastly increasing weathering via water, with it's average temperature over the year at 25C which would allow the water to remain much longer also?

[@Dragrath1]

It probably should be considered that because of the effects of precessional shifts on heat distribution between land and sea the Sahara shifts between a wetter African humid period and the current dry Sahara period a cycle which has ben in effect for at least the last 8 million years. The net effect is that we are around ~5,500 years or so into the current dry phase of the approximately 26,000 year long precessional cycle. How this basin responds to this cycle likely needs further study but it would be surprising if there wasn't an effect on the rate of erosion due to the climatic cycle.

[@nathalielai]

Great video!! Hoping you’ll make some videos about planetary geological phenomena- maybe volcanoes on Io or icequakes on Titan?

[@etherealswordsman3214]

well, now i know what this feature is called. well, you mentioned them in passing, now I'd really like to see the Tibesti Mountains volcanoes talked about in videos. they're such weird volcanoes, super cool, but super under-studied because of the extreme remoteness of that collection. but they're absolutely massive volcanoes all the same, and most of them could, in theory, erupt again as at least one of their members has a recorded eruption, and another probably would too if it were less remote. Waw an Namus here is basically the tibesti mountains' little sibling as they're both situated on triple junctions. both sit on the same incipient, mostly failed rift zone, and as i recall they both have a second young-ish failed rift passing through them as well as another fault of some sort. In theory, they all could have formed without any present hotspot in the area, although it's hard to say if they actually did or not.

[@skpjoecoursegold366]

thanks.

[@manishvaddiraju1644]

Hey. Thank you for these videos. These are amazing pieces of information. Could you perhaps do a video on modern average of VEIs observed and what volcanoes produced the Highest VEI in the last 10,000 years?

[@paulmorgan1009]

Thanks for the video! Would love to see one on Mt. Cameroon and that if you talk about the Tibesti region you talk about the volcanoes individually if possible. The complexes there are so varied, and the wide range of activity seen with such fascinating individual volcanoes deserves a closer look and not a broad association. And given the remote nature having a detailed account for the individual mountains with available info would be a great reference and gift since visiting the area aint advised nowadays. Be a rare look into them.

[@lisarak8639]

Volcano , 🌋 , cool.

[@kaysianrain9203]

Man I appreciate needs 🙏

[@EvaFleming]

I spend so much time looking at satellite imagery because I enjoy it. I found this volcano a couple of years ago because of that distinct red acid pool and have been curious about its origins. There are so many interesting volcanoes all over the planet, but especially in Africa. I fantasize about transporters and the ability to go to these remote locations easily.

[@funnyperson4027]

Can you do a video on the tousside volcano while you are looking at that area?

[@GeologyHub]

Yes.

[@chesterfieldthe3rd929]

@@GeologyHub huzzah

[@dr.a006]

I bet the ambient temps midday are pretty hot in that dark field of ash/rock!🥵

[@adriandiaz8665]

The geology of the Everglades would be a cool video

[@mengatur]

Can you discuss about colo una una volcano it has some unique features

[@25scigirl]

Interesting and I learned about a new volcano! The USGS could use satellite imagery, radar, thermal imaging, seismographs, gas monitoring, etc. on Waw An Namus volcano and in the surrounding areas. The volcanic debris clearly shows up in the desert which means that satellites can prove once and for all, if it is active, dormant, or extinct. According to some websites, it says that Waw An Namus is extinct, but the USGS should check to confirm this information because you never know. That is what happened at the Herdubreid volcano in Iceland because it had not erupted since the Pleistocene era, but then there was an earthquake swarm on October 27th, 2022, but I have not heard of an eruption yet. I look forward to many more of your videos in the future.

[@bigjay875]

That thing is pretty dang cool

[@retropipes8863]

Fascinating stuff... there's clear signs that there was volcanic activity here at some point.

[@Dranzerk8908]

Can you cover the so called "rift" that is forming in Africa? I forget name, that place that is splitting apart, apparently its visible?

[@matthewbooth9265]

Imagine that you were a people, terrified of volcano's and you decided that you'd live in the desert, far far from any volcano's...and then wallop, massive eruption just under Numnum's tent. Just can't catch a break.

[@danielnaberhaus5337]

Do more videos on the younger dryas flood please, like the water erosion across the Sahara and Arabia that was likely a giant psunami that eroded rock and deposited sand and salt across the continent.

[@johnyoung1128]

I have heard recently that some doubt has been raised about the Cosgrove line in Australia being the result of a mantle hotspot. Do you have a view on this?

[@lestergonzalez22]

Can we get some more info on the Santa Ana Volcano in El Salvador and it’s acidic crater lake. The volcano seems to be part of a large complex given that the volcano has 3 others in close proximity and at some point was part of a VEI 7 eruption.

[@woodchuck306]

Could you please explain the geology of Drake Passage and Sandwich Islands.

[@TheOnlyNate115]

I have a Question.. or two. Was the region of this volcano a desert at the estimated time of its eruption? Ive heard theories/statements that the sahara/northern africa wasnt always a desert. If this is the case would we be able to make excavations around the site of the black ground and find vegetation petrified underneath?

[@Dragrath1]

Yes because of the effects of precessional shifts on heat distribution between land and sea the Sahara sedimentary record show the continent periodically shifts between a wetter African humid period and the current dry Sahara period a cycle which has ben in effect for at least the last 8 million years. The net effect is that we are around ~5,500 years or so into the current dry phase of the approximately 26,000 year long precessional cycle. How this basin responds to this cycle likely needs further study but it would be surprising if there wasn't an effect on the rate of erosion due to the climatic cycle.

[@bleachcheeks4837]

They should just call it the mole of the Sahara. Its intresting looking at it on maps

[@BigBEES777]

I don't care if anyone calls me a nerd I find this stuff interesting I don't know why it just is

[@rogerj.fugere3570]

Has there ever been a caldera forming event, except the rock/crust doesn't collapse? Might this leave an underground lava lake? Or cool to form a fairly level cave?

[@MelanieCravens]

I'd think it wouldn't technically be a caldera-forming event if the caldera didn't actually form by having the surface collapse. But I may be wrong.

[@Fabdanc]

@GeologyHub, are all caldera collapses circular in shape and would this mean that most magma chambers are generally... Circular? Seems like the predominant shape.

[@johnashleyhalls]

Looked at some commenters and found one with the same Q as mine. The black mat of ejecta looks spectacular, too clean, pristine?. Before 6,000ish yrs ago the place had greenery and more of it the farther back you go to about 20,000. Would it be the case that the loss of vegitation, top soil and regular rain would have eroded/washed away such a perfect ejecta field? So the blast may be less than 6,000 yrs old?

[@augustolobo2280]

Looks like a scene from planet mars

[@eliinthewolverinestate6729]

Is that a mud volcano next to it?

[@bgl864]

in theory if we drilled thousands of holes throughout this formation and put alot of cattle on it and let them crap everywhere would it help the soil support more green... providing that we put pump stations for water and truck in hay every week...

[@tarsymurphy]

Could You Please Do A Video On The Zavaritzki Megaeruption in Russia 20,000 Years Ago? It was a VEI 7 And Ejected About 200 Km3 Of Tephra

[@VadulTharys]

There is an issue with the dates you give in this. The Saraha was a green savannah when you stated the volcano last erupted. There was a decent amount of rain at that time much more than in central Mexico

[@TomLuTon]

Can we assume that based on the vegetation, the most recent eruption must be from back when the Sahara was green? Because if it happened after it became a desert, how would new plants have sprouted?

[@CaradhrasAiguo49]

what of the potential role of nutrient-rich soil?

[@TomLuTon]

@@CaradhrasAiguo49 I'm thinking more 'where do the new seeds come from?'

[@sirmonkey1985]

@@TomLuTon wind, birds, animals, rodents, people.. same way all seeds spread.

[@YiOughta]

What's going on at devils cross?

[@procrastinator41]

Why hasn’t the lava field been covered with sand dunes?

[@flamencoprof]

My question also. The rate of yellow sand deposition could help date the eruption was my thinking.

[@ducthman4737]

👍

[@WestOfEarth]

Curious if people live there? Is the water drinkable?

[@santoast24]

If you go 75 miles directly NW of Waw an Namus you'll find two long straight features running SW-NE. They look to me like failed flood basalt sources, where there was never enough at one time to spread very far out. Either that or they are the remains of a Giant Space Whale and her Calf that died there many eons ago. Either way I've never found any information about the formations specifically, and dont know that they even have a name. They lie right on the borders of the Sirte Basin as you marked it, but thats about the only clue I have as to they're formation

[@stefanmargraf7878]

That water comes from rain?

[@josephpiskac2781]

I have noted that I believe I was or I am engaged in an alien exchange program. In the 1990s I formed a unique concept for Planet Earth geology. There must be some files regarding this on my computer. Should I find the files is there a way I can email them to you?

[@brycelacsina4063]

Waw an namus is by my guess a pyroclastic shield

[@alexdrockhound9497]

Gneiss

[@Trassik]

I'm sure the black sand/rock has already been measured for depth?

[@tymonkalbarczyk1456]

Have you seen one of thenevest videos by USGS of Kilauea eruption? Big explosion on the lake created litteral lava tsunami!

[@scillyautomatic]

How do you know it was a volcano and not an impact crater?

[@GeologyHub]

Basalt composition of volcanic rock, shape of the caldera, tephra distribution.

[@alexdrockhound9497]

You can also use geophysics to map the "root" of the volcano, the path the lava took to reach the surface.

[@RobertGotschall]

Sure, a hot spot can come up in the middle of the ocean, why not in the Sahara? It just hadn't occured to me.

[@flamencoprof]

Oasis - noun, *plural* o·a·ses [oh-ey-seez].

[@faenethlorhalien]

The pural of oasis is oasis

[@flamencoprof]

I hope that is a typo. The plural is oases.

[@whatthefunction9140]

Atlantis!?

[@konradcomrade4845]

could Waw an Namus's underlying mantle geology be more than a hotspot, which would make it absolutely not extinct? Refering to 6:53 in How Earth’s Crust Formed & Difference Between Tectonic Plates & Crust | GEO GIRL kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYXImJRsaJhnedk I can see a long line of hot mantle upwelling, starting from the right-branching, in the southern hemisphere, of the mid_Atlantic_ridge to Cameron/Nigeria ( imagine it going - ) through Lybia, through Scilicy (Aetna!), Sardinia, the Rhine- (rift-)valley which extends from Northern Switzerland to the Netherlands! ( there are suspected Super_volcano magma_chambers under Naples_city/Italy and under Eifel_mountains/Germany; supporting this conjecture!) What could the Geologic future hold in surprises? Europe will split in two, East and West of Rhine; Africa will split into three parts, East and West of the Great Rift Valley, and another less pronounced, later rift going through Lybia?

[@Roodoo55]

what's all this about the crater being deeper than the mountain? maths don't add up..

[@s4098429]

Your reading rhythm is really strange and hard to follow, please at least, slow down.

[@danielwatts9803]

Libya is Africa, Israel is Africa, Saudi Arabia is Africa. . . thank you

[@porcus123]

How is isreal and saudi arabia is africa?

[@shatterscape]

@@porcus123Libya is Africa, Israel is Africa, Saudi Arabia is Africa, Italy is Africa, Europe is Africa, all will return and be one with the sons of Ham. . . thank you

[@Aztesticals]

Sorry man Saudi Arabia is on Arabian plate. But Israel is on the African plate. So partly right

[@samsonsoturian6013]

​@cerberous1794 the Suez Canal is the customary boundary between Asia and Africa

[@ChurchSleazy]

Your a little stupid huh?

[@adriennefloreen]

واو الناموس is an interesting Arabic word because it contains all long vowels and someone who can read Arabic but can't speak it can pronounce it. And anyone with half a brain also now knows how to write an Arabic w (9) and long A (l) lol I'm kind of kidding but not because while writing down the name of some plants used in Asian cooking I had to write the Korean s (upside down v) and other letters I now remember. So, 9l9, everyone.