Corbetti

About Corbetti

Corbetti is one of the largest calderas (15.6 x 10.9 km) within the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER). As summarized by Colby et al. (2022), it has followed an evolutionary pattern similar to other caldera volcanoes within the MER, beginning with a shield-building phase of peralkaline rhyolite lava flows, followed by at least one caldera-forming eruption, the inferred deposits of which are dated to ca. 182 ± 28 ka (Hutchison et al., 2016). Subsequent volcanism focused around three post-caldera edifices (Artu, Urji, and Chabbi) and a rhyolitic cone (Biftu Tuff Cone), situated outside the south-eastern caldera wall.... The eroded remains of Artu cone partly cover the northeastern section of the caldera, and younger products from Chabbi shield entirely cover the eastern portion of the caldera wall." The Wendo Koshe Younger Pumice (WKYP) has been 14C dated by Rapprich et al. (2016) to around 396 BCE; stratigraphic correlations indicate more recent eruptions, including four obsidian lava flows (Rapprich et al., 2016) and possibly two smaller explosive eruptions (Colby et al., 2022). Additional undated deposits are present between the WKYP event and the formation of the Biftu Tuff Cone after 5425 BCE (Colby et al., 2022).