Global Volcanism Program

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports available for Harrat Rahat.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Harrat Rahat.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Harrat Rahat.

This compilation of synonyms and subsidiary features may not be comprehensive. Features are organized into four major categories: Cones, Craters, Domes, and Thermal Features. Synonyms of features appear indented below the primary name. In some cases additional feature type, elevation, or location details are provided.

Synonyms

Raha, Harrat er-

Cones

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Bani Abdullah, Harrat

Volcanic field

23° 30' 0" N

40° 5' 0" E

Hurus, Jabal al

Cone

24° 16' 0" N

39° 53' 0" E

Ma'tan, Jabal

Cone

24° 19' 0" N

39° 50' 0" E

Rashid, Harrat
Medina, Harrat el-
Madinah, Harrat

Volcanic field

24° 15' 0" N

39° 45' 0" E

Turrah, Harrat

Volcanic field

23° 0' 0" N

40° 10' 0" E

Domes

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Diba' Al Hurus, Jibal

Dome

24° 14' 0" N

39° 51' 0" E

Umm Ruqubah, Jabal

Dome

24° 5' 0" N

39° 57' 0" E

Basic Data

Volcano Number

Last Known Eruption

Elevation

Latitude
Longitude

231070

1256 CE

1,744 m / 5,722 ft

23.08°N
39.78°E

Morphology

Volcano Landform
Cluster

Volcano Types
Volcanic field

Rock Types

Major
Basalt / Picro-Basalt
Trachybasalt / Tephrite Basanite
Trachyandesite / Basaltic Trachyandesite

Minor
Trachyte / Trachydacite

Tectonic Setting

Intraplate
Continental crust (> 25 km)

Population

Within 5 km
Within 10 km
Within 30 km
Within 100 km

138,380
1,010,115
1,010,115
1,010,115

Geological Summary

Harrat Rahat, Saudi Arabia's largest lava field, covers 20,000 km² and extends for 300 km S of Madinah (Medina). Four coalescing lava fields erupted from offset NNW-trending vent systems comprise the field, which has an average width of 60 km. Lava flows extend as far as 100 km W of the axis of the field. Basaltic scoria cones dominate, but the volcanic field has also produced silicic trachy-basaltic to trachytic rocks. Small shield volcanoes and lava domes with associated pyroclastic flow and surge deposits are also present. Activity has migrated to the north over time, resulting in eruptions near Madinah. The best-known eruption took place in 1256 CE, when a 0.5 km³ lava flow erupted from six aligned scoria cones and traveled 23 km to within 4 km of Madinah.

References

The following references have all been used during the compilation of data for this volcano, it is not a comprehensive bibliography.

Brown G F, Schmidt D L, Huffman A C Jr, 1989. Geology of the Arabian Peninsula; shield area of western Saudi Arabia. U S Geol Surv Professional Paper 560-A (replaced Open-File Report 84-203). https://doi.org/10.3133/pp560A

Camp V E, Hooper P R, Roobol M J, White D L, 1987. The Madinah eruption, Saudi Arabia: magma mixing and simultaneous extrusion of the three basaltic chemical types. Bull Volcanol, 49: 489-508.

Camp V E, Roobol M J, 1989. The Arabian continental alkali basalt province: Part I. Evolution of Harrat Rahat, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Geol Soc Amer Bull, 101: 71-95.

Camp V E, Roobol M J, 1991. Geologic map of the Cenozoic lava field of Harrat Rahat, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia Directorate Gen Min Res, Map GM-123, 1:250,000 geol map and text.

Katsui Y (ed), 1971. List of the World Active Volcanoes. Volc Soc Japan draft ms, (limited circulation), 160 p.

Neumann van Padang M, 1963. Arabia and the Indian Ocean. Catalog of Active Volcanoes of the World and Solfatara Fields, Rome: IAVCEI, 16: 1-64.

Eruptive History

There is data available for 2 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.

[ 1292 ] Uncertain Eruption

Episode 1 | Eruption

Near Madinah

1292 - Unknown

Evidence from Unknown

List of 1 Events for Episode 1 at Near Madinah

	Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
	- - - -	- - - -	Lava flow	Uncertain

1256 Jun 5 - 1256 Jul 27 (?) Confirmed Eruption VEI: 3

Episode 1 | Eruption

Fissure 20 km SE of Madinah

1256 Jun 5 - 1256 Jul 27 (?)

Evidence from Observations: Reported

List of 8 Events for Episode 1 at Fissure 20 km SE of Madinah

Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
- - - -	- - - -	Explosion
- - - -	- - - -	Lava flow
- - - -	- - - -	Cinder Cone
- - - -	- - - -	Ash
- - - -	- - - -	Scoria
- - - -	- - - -	Audible Sounds
- - - -	- - - -	Earthquakes (undefined)	Before.
1256 Jun 5	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

0641 Confirmed Eruption VEI: 2

Episode 1 | Eruption

West of Madinah

0641 - Unknown

Evidence from Observations: Reported

List of 4 Events for Episode 1 at West of Madinah

Start Date	End Date	Event Type
- - - -	- - - -	Explosion
- - - -	- - - -	Cinder Cone
- - - -	- - - -	Scoria
0641	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Harrat Rahat.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Harrat Rahat.

Photo Gallery

The northern part of Saudi Arabia's largest lava field, 20,000 km² Harrat Rahat, is seen in this NASA International Space Station image (N to the top left). Harrat Rahat extends for 300 km S of the city of Madinah (Medina), the light-colored area at the top-center. Although basaltic scoria cones are more common, small shield volcanoes and lava domes are also present. The most well-known eruption took place in 1256 CE, when the large dark-colored flow seen extending to the upper right traveled 23 km to within 4 km of Madinah.

NASA International Space Station image ISS001-344-27, 2001 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/).

The northern part of the 20,000 km² Harrat Rahat volcanic field, the largest in Saudia Arabia at 50-75 km wide and ~300 km long, is shown in this November 2019 Planet Labs satellite image monthly mosaic (N is at the top; this image is approximately 192 km across). Earlier work identified 986 vents across the field. Recent lava flows in the northern end encroach on the city of Al-Madinah.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2019 (https://www.planet.com/).

GVP Map Holdings

Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Harrat Rahat in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences Rock and Ore collection.

External Sites

Copernicus Browser

The Copernicus Browser replaced the Sentinel Hub Playground browser in 2023, to provide access to Earth observation archives from the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, the main distribution platform for data from the EU Copernicus missions.

MIROVA

Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity (MIROVA) is a near real time volcanic hot-spot detection system based on the analysis of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data. In particular, MIROVA uses the Middle InfraRed Radiation (MIR), measured over target volcanoes, in order to detect, locate and measure the heat radiation sourced from volcanic activity.

MODVOLC Thermal Alerts

Using infrared satellite Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data, scientists at the Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai'i, developed an automated system called MODVOLC to map thermal hot-spots in near real time. For each MODIS image, the algorithm automatically scans each 1 km pixel within it to check for high-temperature hot-spots. When one is found the date, time, location, and intensity are recorded. MODIS looks at every square km of the Earth every 48 hours, once during the day and once during the night, and the presence of two MODIS sensors in space allows at least four hot-spot observations every two days. Each day updated global maps are compiled to display the locations of all hot spots detected in the previous 24 hours. There is a drop-down list with volcano names which allow users to 'zoom-in' and examine the distribution of hot-spots at a variety of spatial scales.

WOVOdat
   Single Volcano View
   Temporal Evolution of Unrest
   Side by Side Volcanoes

WOVOdat is a database of volcanic unrest; instrumentally and visually recorded changes in seismicity, ground deformation, gas emission, and other parameters from their normal baselines. It is sponsored by the World Organization of Volcano Observatories (WOVO) and presently hosted at the Earth Observatory of Singapore.

GVMID Data on Volcano Monitoring Infrastructure The Global Volcano Monitoring Infrastructure Database GVMID, is aimed at documenting and improving capabilities of volcano monitoring from the ground and space. GVMID should provide a snapshot and baseline view of the techniques and instrumentation that are in place at various volcanoes, which can be use by volcano observatories as reference to setup new monitoring system or improving networks at a specific volcano. These data will allow identification of what monitoring gaps exist, which can be then targeted by remote sensing infrastructure and future instrument deployments.

Volcanic Hazard Maps

The IAVCEI Commission on Volcanic Hazards and Risk has a Volcanic Hazard Maps database designed to serve as a resource for hazard mappers (or other interested parties) to explore how common issues in hazard map development have been addressed at different volcanoes, in different countries, for different hazards, and for different intended audiences. In addition to the comprehensive, searchable Volcanic Hazard Maps Database, this website contains information about diversity of volcanic hazard maps, illustrated using examples from the database. This site is for educational purposes related to volcanic hazard maps. Hazard maps found on this website should not be used for emergency purposes. For the most recent, official hazard map for a particular volcano, please seek out the proper institutional authorities on the matter.

IRIS seismic stations/networks

Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) Data Services map showing the location of seismic stations from all available networks (permanent or temporary) within a radius of 0.18° (about 20 km at mid-latitudes) from the given location of Harrat Rahat. Users can customize a variety of filters and options in the left panel. Note that if there are no stations are known the map will default to show the entire world with a "No data matched request" error notice.

UNAVCO GPS/GNSS stations

Geodetic Data Services map from UNAVCO showing the location of GPS/GNSS stations from all available networks (permanent or temporary) within a radius of 20 km from the given location of Harrat Rahat. Users can customize the data search based on station or network names, location, and time window. Requires Adobe Flash Player.

DECADE Data

The DECADE portal, still in the developmental stage, serves as an example of the proposed interoperability between The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program, the Mapping Gas Emissions (MaGa) Database, and the EarthChem Geochemical Portal. The Deep Earth Carbon Degassing (DECADE) initiative seeks to use new and established technologies to determine accurate global fluxes of volcanic CO₂ to the atmosphere, but installing CO₂ monitoring networks on 20 of the world's 150 most actively degassing volcanoes. The group uses related laboratory-based studies (direct gas sampling and analysis, melt inclusions) to provide new data for direct degassing of deep earth carbon to the atmosphere.

Large Eruptions of Harrat Rahat

Information about large Quaternary eruptions (VEI >= 4) is cataloged in the Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions (LaMEVE) database of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA).

EarthChem

EarthChem develops and maintains databases, software, and services that support the preservation, discovery, access and analysis of geochemical data, and facilitate their integration with the broad array of other available earth science parameters. EarthChem is operated by a joint team of disciplinary scientists, data scientists, data managers and information technology developers who are part of the NSF-funded data facility Integrated Earth Data Applications (IEDA). IEDA is a collaborative effort of EarthChem and the Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS).