Scientists are warning of an impending eruption in Tanzania after discovering the country’s ‘Mountain of God’ volcano is bulging.

The Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano, located in the north, was found to be swelling due to magma flowing beneath the Earth’s surface.

The 9,718-foot-tall volcano has been active every 20 to 40 years throughout the 20th century, with its last eruption in 2007 spreading ash more than 10 miles away from the site and forcing thousands of people to evacuate.

There has been a ‘rapid uplift’ in underground magma volcanic activity in the land surrounding the volcano since March 2022, posing a sign of imminent doom.

‘We have been able to detect transient motion in volcanic activity, and this is a precursor for any kind of eruption,’ said Ntambila Daud, a graduate student at Virginia Tech.

Ol Doinyo Lengai – meaning ‘Mountain of God’ in Maasai – is considered to be a sacred site by the Maasai tribe who visit it to pray for cures to illness and infertility and ask for relief from any other misfortunes.

Records of the volcano only go back to the 1880s, but  it has erupted nine times since with the largest occurring 17 years ago.

The explosion sent ash thousands of feet into the air and spread lava nearly two miles away from its western flank.

Ol Doinyo Lengai is also the only one in the world to spew carbonite lava, a uniquely black or gray-colored lava that turns stark white when it cools.

This contrasts with other active volcanoes that project red, orange or yellow-colored lava that will turn a deep black color when it’s exposed to the air and cools.

The different colors relate to the temperature the lave reaches when it hits the surface, with dark red being measured at 887 degrees Fahrenheit, orange at 1,652 degrees Fahrenheit, and white clocking at 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.

The study’s co-author and Virginia Tech ᴀssociate professor D. Sarah Stamps said, ‘The approach used in [their research] provided important steps forward in our understanding of the dynamic magma plumbing system of Ol Doinyo Lengai.’

‘This research could help Tanzanian authorities have a better idea of what is happening with the volcano,’ she added.