Journal of Global Resources
Volume 5
July 2017
ISSN: 2395-3160 (Print), 2455-2445 (Online)

Page101-108

13
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF VOLCANOES IN NORTHERN NIGERIA: A GIS APPROACH
Olawale Ayodeji Oluwafemi, Mahmud Umar Muhammad and Tahir Abubakar Yakubu
Division of Information Systems Management,
Centre for Geodesy and Geodynamics, Toro, Bauchi State, Nigeria
Email: walefemi007@yahoo.com
Abstract: The aim of the mapping exercise is to identify the volcanic signatures within the
Nigerian land –mass, investigate their activity and predict through dating possible reoccurrence in future as well as determining hazard vulnerabilities. Our investigations
identified sixteen (16) volcanic cones outcrop in the Jos Plateau and twenty-eight (28) ofsuch in the Biu Plateau. The study affirms that volcanic cones of Jos Plateau are composed
essentially of volcanic ash, lappilli, bombs, tuff agglomerates, basalts and scoria. Most ofthem occur as single cinder cones (like at Miango, Passakai, Wushik, Kerang Swan junctionetc.) but rarely as clusters of two or more (for example, Jiblik, Kassa, Kerang twin volcanoes,
Pidong among others). The study also affirms that Biu Plateau are constituted by a large
volume of volcanic ash and pyroclastic materials (for example, at Gwamya, Tilla Crater Lake,
Gadam, Batadeka, Bwatai, Kwatla volcanoes among others) suggesting that there was atremendous spewing of ash and gases into the atmosphere prior to the violent eruptions andin-between the eruptions. If any of these volcanoes erupt today with the same intensity andvolume presumed the whole state and the neighbouring states would be thrown into chaos.
GIS analytical techniques like overlying and buffering showed clearly that the population ofpeople living around these volcanoes totals about 1.5 million people. This means that about
half the population of Plateau State is potentially at risk of volcanic eruption. The study
concludes that the distribution of volcanoes varies over space on both Biu and Jos Plateau.
Hence, public awareness of their hazard potentials and encouragement of increased
public participation, as well as government and professional intervention in proper
management and monitoring of these volcanoes should be encouraged.
Key words: Mapping; Volcano; Vulnerabilities; Nigeria; GIS
Introduction
The mapping of patterns in the spatial distribution of features has been of great significancein virtually all fields. The primary aim in the mapping process is to bring out hidden
relationships among variables. This becomes important because geographical distribution of
spatial feature reflects the social and environmental conditions that affect risk, susceptibility,
social interaction and behaviors that facilitates occurrence (Oluwafemi et. al; 2013).
According to Geology Dictionary, volcano is a vent or outlet which transfers magma or
molten rock from the earth crust to the Earth’s surface. Volcano can be categorized into
active and dormant volcano. It is widely known that volcanoes are named from Vulcan
the Roman god of fire (Wright 1979). According to Lar and Tsalha (2005), volcanism is theeruption of molten rock (magma) onto the surface of the Earth crust. Volcanic eruptions andtheir effects are amongst the earth’s most destructive natural events. Empirical researchsuggested that about 600 volcanoes have erupted worldwide in the past 200 years (Turner1978). The challenge of volcanism has been an issue of global concern, especially in Asiaand sub- Sahara Africa. Approximately 50 volcanoes erupt around the world. Apart from the101

danger pose by volcanic eruptions, they provide some of the world’s most breathtaking
scenery.
According to Lar and Tsalha (2005) volcanism occurs when earth crust loses its
internal heat; it can be formed where rock near the surface becomes hot enough to melt. On
Earth, this often happens in association with plate boundaries where two plates move apart,such as at mid-ocean volcanic ridges, material from Earth's interior slowly rises up, melts
when it reaches lower pressures, and fills in the gap (Ewert et al; 2005). Although, most
volcanic activity takes place at plate boundaries, volcanism also can occur within the plateinteriors at hotspots just like in the case of Nigeria (Akpan and Yakubu, 2010). Volcanic
hotspots are thought to be from large plumes of extremely hot material rising from deep inEarth's interior. The hot material rises slowly, eventually melting as it reaches lower
pressures near Earth's surface. When the material erupts it forms massive lava flows of finegrained dark volcanic rock basalt (Grant et al; 1972). The broad, gentle shield volcanoes of
Hawai'i come from a hotspot (Lar and Sadiu 2004). The term vulnerability referred to people
and property threatened in regions of hazardous events (Ewert et al. 2005). The concept ofvulnerability needs to incorporate the differential susceptibility and aspects of impacts to aid
in risk mitigation (Hill and Cutter, 2001). Studies have shown that lava flows have buried
communities; explosive eruptions have destroyed forests and killed people, debris
avalanches and mudflows have clogged major river ways, damaged bridges, and swept
bystanders to their deaths; noxious gas emissions have caused lung ailments; ash clouds
have caused damage to aircraft and disrupted the lives of thousands of people (Hill andCutter, 2001; Turner 1978). In Nigeria, empirical studies have shown that quite a number ofdormant volcanoes are visible all over the Jos and Biu Plateau. However, these volcanoes
represent previous volcanic eruption sites and are therefore potential future eruption sites.
Thus, the possibility of a volcanic eruption taking place in Nigeria cannot be completely ruledout (Lar and Sadiu 2004). This is further more affirmed by the several incidences of volcanic
eruptions along the nearby Cameroon volcanic line (in 1909, 1922, 1959 and 1982) at thenorth eastern extremity of Nigeria. In most cases, the impact of such eruptions, such as
minor tremors, flooding along river channels and sudden temperature rise etc. have been
experienced in the neighbouring Taraba, Adamawa and Benue States of Nigeria. The
potential for such threats to the nation’s population, property, and infrastructure is significant
and there is a need to map volcanic eruptive behaviours using geospatial techniques to help
mitigate effects of these forces of nature (Ewert et. al; .2005). Hence, this study analyses thespatial distribution of volcanic eruption on both Jos and Biu Plateau, using geospatial
techniques with a view of aiding the policy makers in providing a framework for the control ofnatural hazards and improves natural hazard management.
Study Area
Nigeria, The most populous country in Africa and the tenth largest country by population in
the world, is located at the eastern terminus of the bulge of West Africa. The geographicallocation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is between latitude 4˚N to 14˚N; and longitude 3˚E
to 15˚E (Figure .1). It has a land extent of about 923,769 km2; a north-south length of about
1,450 km and a west-east breadth of about 800 km. It is a country with diverse biophysicalcharacteristics, ethnic nationalities, agro-ecological zones and socio-economy. Abuja is thecapital and Lagos is the most populous city and main commercial centre. The country has 36
states with 774 Local Government Areas. The Jos Plateau is located in the central part of
Nigeria while Biu Plateau is located in a highland area in North-eastern part of Nigeria
102containing many recently extinct volcanoes. It is located between Longitude 12º 00´E to12º30´E and Latitude. 10º 19´ N to 11º 00´ N. It covers about 5,200 km (2,000 sq. km) andhas an average elevation of 700 m (2,300 ft.). The Jos Plateau lies between the Upper
Benue Basin to the south and the Chad Basin to the north. The plateau covers an area of
about 7,800 sq. km (about 3,000 sq. mi) and lies at a general altitude of about 1,300 m(about 4,300 ft.). It is surrounded by high plains with elevations of between 600 and 900 m(2,000 and 3,000 ft.) and consists mainly of deeply eroded remnant volcanic rock, mostly
granites (Lar, and Tsalha, 2005). The Tertiary volcanic activity was concentrated on the Jos
Plateau, the Benue trough and along the Northeast to Southwest Cameroon Line (Figure 1).
Most of the main volcanic regions are characterized by basement uplift and these also
include the Bameda Highlands, the Mambila Plateau and the Adamawa Plateau (Turner,
1997). Similarly, the Basement in the Biu Plateau marks a structural culmination between the
Benue and Chad basins. The Cameroun Volcanic Line comprises of the Gulf of Guinea,
Island of Anoobon, Sao Tome and Principe and Fernando Po and also the Cameroun
Mountains, Bameda Highlands comprising of Manemgomba, Oku, and the Mambila Plateau.
South east of the Cameroon line, the line splits into two branches, one runs into northern
Nigeria and includes the Biu Plateau, while the other runs eastwards through the Ngoude
Plateau of eastern Cameroun. On the uplifted Jos Plateau, volcanic rocks are represented
by basaltic lava flows and volcanic cones (Mackay et. al; 1949). Here these relics volcanic
rocks are classified into two (namely Older and Newer basalts) based on their differences inage of emplacement, mode of occurrence, mineralogy and texture (Lar and Tsalha, 2004).
Fig.1: Map of Nigeria Showing the study area.
Methodology
The research methodology was discussed under the following; reconnaissance survey, data
sources and acquisition, data collection procedure, data preparation and analyticaltechniques used in the study.

103

Field Investigation
Reconnaissance Survey
A reconnaissance survey and actual fieldwork of the study area was undertaken was
conducted. The study was conducted during three field seasons which included a desk
study, compilation of existing data (topographical, geological, population, satellite and soil
type data) acquired from relevant agencies, meetings and discussions with governmentalorganizations at Federal and State level. During the actual field survey, information about
locality of the volcano, geographic coordinate and type of volcano, diameter of crater,
elevation and materials deposited were also noted.
Data Sources and Acquisition
Both primary and secondary data were used in this research. The primary data involved theuse of Handheld Global Positioning System to obtain the geographic coordinates of bothactive and dormant volcanoes on both Jos and Biu plateau. The Ground Control Points(GCPs) were used in the map georeferencing within ArcGIS environment. The methodology
adopted from this study includes desk study and field investigation. The secondary data
includes compilation of existing data (topographical, geological, population, satellite and soil
type data) acquired from relevant agencies which was used as themes in the ArcGIS 9.3 forfurther analysis.
Geospatial Analysis
The georeferenced map was exported to ArcGIS 9.3 environment. Thereafter, relevant
layers (state boundary, settlement, and volcano) were digitized and the various attributewere populated. These positional and attribute data were overlaid as themes with theirshape files in ArcGIS. Three GIS spatial analysis were used to analyse phenomena ofinterest. The study also developed a Geographical Information System (GIS) database andmapped volcanoes in Nigeria using ArcGIS 9.3. The buffering analysis was performed oneach volcano within the study area. Figure 2 shows the buffering analysis with 50km radiusaround the volcanoes. The settlements within the buffered zones of were mapped andidentified with their respective population. The buffering analysis was also performed on the
volcanoes on Biu plateau with 60 km radius. The settlements within the buffered zones werealso mapped and identified with their population figures.
Results and discussion
Jos Plateau
Our investigations show that about 16 volcanic cones outcrop of the Jos Plateau. They arealigned mainly in NNE-SSW directions. The volcanic cones are composed essentially of
volcanic ash, lappilli, bombs, tuff agglomerates, basalts and scoria (Table 1). Most of themoccur as single cinder cones (like at Miango, Passakai, Wushik, Kerang) but rarely asclusters of two or more (for example, Jiblik, Kassa, Kerang twin volcanoes, Pidong etc.).
These individual cones reflect the number of major successive eruptions. In places, where
single cones occur, one would observe a series of minor hills aligned in the direction of thecollapsed flank. This is very visible with some volcanic cones within the Sura line (e.g. Nyeis
and Kerang volcanoes). There are clear indications that in each of the alignments, thevolcanoes at the northern end are the most highly weathered relative to those towards thesouthern end. For example, in the Miango-Vom-Kassa line, the Miango volcanoes at thenorthern end are relatively weathered compared to those of the Kassa hills. So also within
the Kassa clusters of volcanoes (which extend for about 3 km) the intensity of weathering104

tends to decrease from the north to the south. This same scenario is also observed within
the Sura Volcanic line, where the presence of the relatively fresh basaltic/pyroclastic
constituent materials at Pidong suggests it is the youngest within the line. The same is trueof the GU Volcanic line.
Figure 2: Vulnerability Map of Volcanoes on Jos Plateau

Thus, there is a correlation between the positions of these volcanoes and their ages.
The oldest formed volcanoes in a given alignment are represented by those in the northernend and are progressively younger towards the southern end. This relationship is akin to that
presented by the Younger Granite ring complexes, which have been dated and gave ages
decreasing progressively from North to South. The alignment of these volcanoes possibly
marks the relative movement of the African plate over the lower mantle “hot spot” which ispresently beneath the Atlantic Ocean (Baudin, 1991). The abrupt change in alignment withinthese two volcanic provinces studied is a reflection of this relative movement at some time
during the Tertiary- Quaternary times. The cluster of these volcanoes and the relatively close
distance between one and another for example Kerang I, II, and III suggest a relatively smallinterval of time between two or more major eruptions. Also, the relatively large size of someof these volcanoes (Miango, Kassa, Jiblik, Kerang etc.) suggest that quite a large volume of105

magma was extruded covering quite a large landmass (valleys and low-lying plains) as lava
flows.
Table 1: The Volcanoes on the Jos Plateau
Name/Locality

Estimated population Materials Depositedof people at risk
Miango volcano I
For 1 & 2 250,000
Scoraceous basalt/pyoclastics
Miango volcano II‘’
Kassa volcanoes
100,000
Olivinebasalt,scoria,tuff,
breccia/volcanic bomb
Sha 1
20,000
Pyroclastics (granite fragments/lava)
Sha 2
10,000Weathered basaltic materials Cappedby Iron concretions
Passakai
10,000Lateritized.
Wushik(Lakas) 10,500
Scoria/pyroclastics
volcanoKogul(Nyeis) 80,000
Scoria/pyroclastics
volcanoKerang I
I to IV put together
Scoria/basaltic rocks with large
200,000
phenocryts of olivine, garnet andpyroxene.
Kerang II
Scoria/basaltic rocks with large
phenocryts of olivine, garnet andpyroxene.
Kerang III volcano
Scoria/pyroclastics.
(Swan junction)
Kerang iv
Pulverised Basement and lava.
Pidong volcano
50,000
Scoria/pyroclastics.
Jiblik volcano
100,000
Scoraceousbasalt+garnet/pyroclastics
Kagu volcano
50,000Scoraceous basalt/pyroclastics
Katul volcano
5000
Scoraceous basalt/pyroclastics
Biu Plateau
The volcanoes of the Biu Plateau present similar characteristics as those of the Jos Plateau(Table 2). The volcanoes form near linear alignments from the north to the south and extend
right through the low-lying Basement complex into the Sedimentary formations of the Benue
valley (Garkida-Gombi-Song areas in Adamawa State). The volcanoes have very large
craters of greater than 1 km, (referred to as caldera). The volcanoes extruded directly thebasement rocks and therefore are of lower altitude above sea level when compared to thoseof the Jos Plateau, which extruded the already high-level Younger Granite bodies. Unlike
the clusters of volcanic cones seen on the Jos Plateau (Kassa and Pidong volcanoes),
those of the Biu Plateau are simple but very large in diameter (Caldera). The large size ofmost of these volcanoes coupled with their number and the superficial area covered,suggests that quite a large volume of magma, volcanic ash, dust and gases erupted. Also,
unlike the volcanoes of the Jos Plateau, those of the Biu Plateau are constituted by a large
volume of volcanic ash and pyroclastic materials (for example, at Gwamya, Tilla Crater
Lake, Gadam, Batadeka, Bwatai, Kwatla volcanoes etc) suggesting that there was atremendous spewing of ash and gases into the atmosphere prior to the violent eruptions andin-between the eruptions. Also, the highly muddy and slippery nature of the environment
during the rainy season attests to this. Certain basaltic rocks of the Biu Plateau have given106

ages as young as 0.8Ma (Grant et. al., 1972). A younger age of 0.5 Ma has also beenreported for some Newer Basalts of the Jos Plateau (Burke and Durotoye, 1974). Theseages compare to ages of certain volcanoes considered extinct but have roared back to life.
This will include in addition large populations living at the neighbouring Kaduna, Nassarawa,
Gombe, Adamawa, and Taraba states.
Table 2: The Volcanoes on the Biu Plateau
Name/Locality

TASHA VILLAGE
AFTER TASHA VILLAGETAGWAYE (TWIN)
VOLCANOES (In Kwaya Kusar
LGA of Borno State)
GADAM VOLCANO (Kwayar
Kusar LGA, Borno State)
Location 5
Location 6

Estimated
population ofpeople at risk
5000
5000
15,000Massive basaltic rocks
Massive/Vesicular Basaltic rocks
Olivine basalts/ Agglomerates.

30,000Olivine Basalt

Inhabited
Inhabited

Basaltic boulders/Agglomerates/tuff
Vesicular Basaltic
boulders/Agglomerates/tuff
Scoraceous basalt witholivine/zeolite/Columnar basalt.
Scoraceous basalt
Scoraceous basalt
Scoraceous basalt/pyroclastic pile
Scoraceous basalt/pyroclastic pile
Scoraceous basalt/pyroclastic pile

TUM

10,000Wakama (a) (BCG Village)
Wakama (b)Gwamya Volcano
Tilla Volcanic Hill
Tilla Crater Lake

2,500
2,500
6,000
2,500
10,000VERSU Volcano
DRAGNA Volcano

3,000
5,000

Materials Deposited

MARAMA Volcano

150,000

Olivine basalt
Weathered scoraceous basa
BasaltScoraceous basalt/pyroclastics

GWARAM VOLCANIC HILL

8,000

Boulders of scoraceous basalt

BATADEKA I VOLCANIC HILLBATADEKA II VOLCANIC HILLKWATLA CRATER LAKEMALDAUBURATAI VOLCANIC HILL

3,000
3,000
Inhabited
Inhabited
5,000

Weathered Scoraceous basalt
Weathered Scoraceous basalt
Weathered scoraceous basalt

KONA UKU VOLCANIC HILLSDUTSEN KURA (BOGUR)
VOLCANIC HILLKUKUWA (Gabai LGA Yobe
State)
Kukuwa II
KURARA VOLCANICHILL(Garkida junct Ad State)
SONG (Song-Gombi Road)SONG (Hawul Mountains)

10,0005,000

Weathered scoraceous basalt/ pyroclastics
Weathered scoraceous basalt/ pyroclastics

5,000

Columnar basalt

5,000
50,000Columnar basalt
Weathered scoraceous basalt/pyroclastics

50,00010,000Weathered scoraceous basalt/pyroclastics
Weathered scoraceous basalt/pyroclastics

Weathered scoraceous basalt/ pyroclastics

Conclusion and Recommendations
From the investigations, many indices contributed to the high probability of some of these
volcanoes roaring to life such as the Tila and the Pidong volcano. It is worthy of note alsothat none of these volcanoes have erupted during our time. There are no records to showthat an eruption did occur at a given time in our history. However, the presence of these107

volcanic edifices alone is enough clues to the likelihood of an eruption. From this study it isestimated that about half the total population of Plateau and Borno states are at risk. The
spatial analysis of the volcanoes on both Jos and Biu Plateau region helped identify where
future hazard mitigation projects should be focused. The result indicated that it is importantto focus on minimizing impacts from the hazards in the following order: pyroclastic flow
areas, debris avalanches, tephra fallout areas and lahars. The study reveals that sixteen(16) volcanic cones outcrop in the Jos Plateau and twenty-eight (28) of such in the Biu
Plateau. The study concludes that the distribution of volcanoes varies over space on both
Biu and Jos Plateau. Hence, public awareness of their hazard potentials andencouragement of increased public participation, as well as government and professional
intervention in proper management and monitoring of these volcanoes should be
encouraged.
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