January 1, 1917 Eruption of Ol Doinyo Lengai
Ol Doinyo Lengai in Tanzania erupted on January 1, 1917 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 3.
Where it erupted
Ol Doinyo Lengai, Tanzania, with its other significant eruptions.
The eruption
- Date
- January 1, 1917
- Volcano
- Ol Doinyo Lengai, stratovolcano
- Country
- Tanzania
- Volcanic Explosivity Index
- 3, moderate to large (eruption column 3 to 15 km)
- Location
- 2.764° S, 35.914° E
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
The volcano erupted violently in January 1917. Ash fall from the eruption killed of formerly luxuriant vegetation on the slopes of the mountain, it has not recovered fully to the present day.
Other significant eruptions of Ol Doinyo Lengai
More
Every eruption in 1917The 1900sOl Doinyo LengaiEarthquakes near Ol Doinyo LengaiThis day in weather history
Sources
Volcanoes and significant eruptions from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. Volcano numbers are the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program’s. NCEI event 1666.