Mount Cameroon is one of Africa's largest volcanoes and one of the few volcanoes with dated historic eruptions from BC.
The massive steep-sided stratovolcano is composed of lavas of dominantly basaltic-to-trachybasaltic composition and overlies a basement of Precambrian metamorphic rocks covered with Cretaceous to Quaternary sediments.
More than 100 small cinder cones, often fissure-controlled parallel to the long axis of the massive 1400 cu km volcano, occur on the flanks and surrounding lowlands. A large satellitic peak, Etinde (also known as Little Cameroon), is located on the southern flank near the coast. Historical activity, the most frequent of west African volcanoes, was first observed in the 5th century BC by the Carthaginian navigator Hannon. During historical time, moderate explosive and effusive eruptions have occurred from both summit and flank vents. A 1922 SW-flank eruption produced a lava flow that reached the Atlantic coast, and a lava flow from a 1999 south-flank eruption stopped only 200 m from the sea.