Meromictic, limnically active lake, volcanic crater lake
Primary inflows
subaquatic source
Basin countries
Cameroon
Max. length
2.0 km (1.2 mi)
Max. width
1.2 km (0.75 mi)
Surface area
1.58 km2 (390 acres)
Average depth
94.9 m (311 ft)
Max. depth
208 m (682 ft)
Water volume
0.15 km3 (120,000 acre⋅ft)
Surface elevation
1,091 m (3,579 ft)
Lake Nyos (/ˈniːoʊs/NEE-ohs)[1] is a crater lake in the Northwest Region of Cameroon, located about 315 km (196 mi) northwest of Yaoundé, the capital.[2] Nyos is a deep lake high on the flank of an inactive volcano in the Oku volcanic plain along the Cameroon line of volcanic activity. A volcanic dam impounds the lake waters.
A pocket of magma lies beneath the lake and leaks carbon dioxide (CO2) into the water, changing it into carbonic acid. Nyos is one of only three lakes known to be saturated with carbon dioxide in this way, and therefore prone to limnic eruptions (the others being Lake Monoun, also in Cameroon, and Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda).
In 1986, possibly as the result of a landslide, Lake Nyos suddenly emitted a large cloud of CO2, which suffocated 1,746 people[3] and 3,500 livestock in nearby towns and villages, the most notable one being Chah, which was abandoned after the incident.[4][5] The limnic eruption not only devastated human and livestock populations but also had a profound impact on the diverse aquatic life, including tilapia, crabs, snails, and frogs, leading to a significant loss of biodiversity in and around the lake.
Though not completely unprecedented, it was the first known large-scale asphyxiation caused by a natural event. To prevent a recurrence, a degassing tube that siphons water from the bottom layers to the top, allowing the carbon dioxide to leak in safe quantities, was installed in 2001. Two additional tubes were installed in 2011.
Today, the lake also poses a threat because its natural wall is weakening. A geological tremor could cause this natural levee to give way, allowing water to rush into downstream villages all the way into Nigeria and allowing large amounts of carbon dioxide to escape.
^"Nyos". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
^"21 August: 1986: Hundreds gassed in Cameroon lake disaster". BBC. August 21, 1986. Retrieved December 19, 2008.
^Rouwet, D., Tanyileke, G. and Costa, A. (July 12, 2016). "Cameroon's Lake Nyos Gas Burst: 30 Years Later". Eos. American Geophysical Union. Retrieved December 1, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^New York Times, "Trying to Tame the Roar of Deadly Lakes", February 27, 2001. [1].
^Krajick, Kevin (September 2003). "Defusing Africa's killer lakes" (PDF). Smithsonian. 34 (6): 46–50. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 14, 2005. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
Cameroon also lies on this fault line. LakeNyos is surrounded by old lava flows and pyroclastic deposits. Although Nyos is situated within an extinct volcano...
On 21 August 1986, a limnic eruption at LakeNyos in northwestern Cameroon killed 1,746 people and 3,500 livestock. The eruption triggered the sudden...
Proximity to areas with volcanic activity Investigations of the Lake Monoun and LakeNyos casualties led scientists to classify limnic eruptions as a distinct...
suspected. Further investigation and a similar event two years later at LakeNyos led to the currently accepted explanation. Several people reported hearing...
down the Lukuga River. Lake Kivu is one of three lakes in the world, along with LakeNyos and Lake Monoun, that undergo limnic eruptions (where overturn...
2019, LakeNyos has successfully been degassed to a nonhazardous concentration of dissolved gas. Paralleling LakeNyos, Lake Kivu is another lake that...
Lake Toba is the largest crater lake in the world. While many crater lakes are picturesque, they can also be deadly. Gas discharges from LakeNyos in...
emits hot gases Lake Monoun – Lake in West Province, Cameroon LakeNyos disaster – 1986 limnic eruption in Cameroon LakeNyos – Crater lake in the Northwest...
colder water at the bottom of the lake. This is called a limnic eruption. An example is the disaster at LakeNyos in Cameroon. The amount of gas that...
cinder cones. The Oku Volcanic Field includes two crater lakes, LakeNyos to the north and Lake Monoun to the south. On 15 August 1984, an earthquake and...
basketball team CHA University Chah (Cameroon), a village affected by the LakeNyos gas eruption Chad (ISO and FIFA country code: CHA), a landlocked country...
meromictic lakes in Africa (LakeNyos and Lake Monoun in Cameroon and Lake Kivu in Rwanda) is potentially dangerous because if one of these lakes is triggered...
Examples: LakeNyos, Northwest Region, Cameroon Lac Pavin, Puy-de-Dôme, France Soda Lakes, Nevada, United States These are some examples of rare lava lakes where...
volcanic activity known as the Cameroon Volcanic Line, which also includes LakeNyos, the site of a disaster in 1986. The most recent eruption occurred on...
conjectural limnic eruption in the Nile Delta, similar to that of the LakeNyos disaster in 1986, is explored as a further source of mass death. The documentary...
Bambili Lake Bamendjing Lake Bankim Lake Barombi Lake Edip Lake Kendall Lake Lagdo Lake Mbakaou Lake Monoun Muanenguba Lakes (Twin Lakes) LakeNyosLake Oku...
It lies near Lake Wum, one of five small crater lakes within 15 km of the town in the hilly, volcanic landscape. LakeNyos, a crater lake from which a...
Crocodile Lake in Los Baños in the Philippines, though originally thought to be a volcanic crater, is a maar. The carbon dioxide-saturated LakeNyos in northwestern...
from deep lake waters. These discharges can cause large water displacements in lakes, triggering lake tsunamis. LakeNyos, a volcanic crater lake in Cameroon...
structure (called bugholes) that may compromise its structural integrity. LakeNyos Disaster Materials for use in vacuum Volatile organic compound Comet Strong...
conditions vary Geyser – Natural explosive eruption of hot water LakeNyos – Crater lake in the Northwest Region of Cameroon Mofette – Point at which carbon...
than LakeNyos and also contains dissolved methane as an additional hazard – though concentration of carbon dioxide is much lower than in LakeNyos. Nearly...
euxinic meromictic lakes. In high enough concentration, these limnic explosions can be deadly to humans and animals, such as the LakeNyos disaster in 1986...
of deep lake water saturated with CO2 are thought to have caused 37 fatalities at Lake Monoun, Cameroon in 1984 and 1700 casualties at LakeNyos, Cameroon...
potentially also by large emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the lake's bottom (compare LakeNyos), although Bermin is too shallow to contain very high amounts...
within the lake or nearby, which caused the appearance of turbidity within the lake and which could release toxic gases, like the LakeNyos. A manuscript...
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