Aluto
Main Ethiopian Rift Volcanic Province, Ethiopia. This page separates the permanent volcano catalogue, historical eruption records, and selective weekly activity reports.
- Coordinates
- 7.77° N, 38.78° E
- Elevation
- 2,335 m
- Last recorded eruption
- 1550 CE
- Historical eruption records
- 5
- Primary type
- Stratovolcano
- Evidence
- Eruption Dated
- GVP database
- 5.4.0
- Catalogue revision
- Revision 2
Volcano profile
- Volcanic landform
- Composite
- Tectonic setting
- Rift zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
- Geologic epoch
- Holocene
- Major rock type
- Rhyolite
- Region
- Eastern Africa Volcanic Regions
- Subregion
- Main Ethiopian Rift Volcanic Province
Geological summary
Aluto, between lakes Zway and Langano (Mirrga), is a stratovolcano with multiple vents aligned along NNE-SSW and E-W fissures along a narrow graben between the two lakes. This silicic volcanic center lies along the regional Wonji Fault Belt and has produced abundant pumice-flow and pumice-fall deposits, along with lesser rhyolitic lava flows. Obsidian lava flows erupted from craters along the fissures have descended the flanks in all directions. Cinder cones, lava domes, phreatic explosion craters, and thermal springs are structurally controlled. The oldest known eruptions produced the Hulo-Seyno Ignimbrite about 155,000 years ago. The latest eruptions produced obsidian flows and pumice breccias about 2,000 years ago. Eruptive products overlie recent basaltic lava flows to the west. Strong fumarolic activity continues.
Separate activity dataset
Weekly volcanic activity reports
Smithsonian/USGS weekly reports are selective and preliminary. They are not a comprehensive list of all eruptions or volcanic activity.
No weekly report appears on this page. Absence from the weekly report does not establish an absence of volcanic activity.
Historical catalogue records
Eruption history
Dates can be approximate, incomplete, or BCE. These are historical catalogue observations, not a statement about present activity.
| Start | End | Activity | Confirmation | VEI | Evidence | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1550 ±50 years CE | Not supplied | Confirmed EruptionTephra sample from E flank of edifice | Confirmed | Not supplied | Isotopic: 14C (calibrated) | GVP 22527Database 5.4.0 |
| ? 51 BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | Not supplied | Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated) | GVP 13957Database 5.4.0 |
| 6201 ±1680 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed EruptionTephra sample from Deka Wede (W of caldera) | Confirmed | Not supplied | Isotopic: 14C (calibrated) | GVP 22530Database 5.4.0 |
| 7281 ±2000 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed EruptionTephra sample from Haroresa (S of caldera) | Confirmed | Not supplied | Isotopic: 14C (calibrated) | GVP 22528Database 5.4.0 |
| 10901 ±1630 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed EruptionTephra sample from Deka Wede (W of caldera) | Confirmed | Not supplied | Isotopic: 14C (calibrated) | GVP 22531Database 5.4.0 |
Source and attribution
Source: Data: Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program, Volcanoes of the World.
View the original Smithsonian GVP recordGlobal Volcanism Program, 2026. Volcanoes of the World 5.4.0.
The GVP database is scientific documentation that changes as evidence is reviewed. Historical dates may be approximate or uncertain. This platform is not an official emergency-warning service.
Read the GVP terms of useData freshness
- Source updated
- Not supplied
- Retrieved
- 11 Oct 2026, 13:07 UTC
- GVP database version
- 5.4.0
- Catalogue revision
- 2
Source-update and retrieval times describe this catalogue record. Each weekly report carries its own publication date and preliminary status.