This volcano was discovered in 1888 while it was erupting by Count Teleki, a Hungarian explorer who led the first expedition into the region.

[4] Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997, the 39-sq-km volcanic island is almost completely barren and uninhabited, with only a few shrubs and trees and almost no fresh water.

The island sits in the southern portion of Lake Turkana which was formed by the East African Rift System (EARS).

As a result, seismic activity is caused which can sometimes have larger earthquakes as well as a belt of volcanoes being fed by the rift since in this case the tectonics and the volcanism are closely related.

[5] The volcano sits on a rift zone, which means that tectonic movement is one of the main factors which generates magma.

[5] On South Island can be found a N-S (north to south) trending volcanic ridge which rises to about a height of 300 m. Along this ridge can be found several volcanic cones, which some rise to about a height of 800 m (above sea level, 320 m above the lake level).

Several N-S trending faults can also be found on the east and west side of the main ridge, which proves that the island sits on a horst.

To the east, basaltic lava flows originating near the ridge spill all the way down to the shore which completely covers the eastern portion.