The Shifting Sands

A few kilometres from the Oldupai Gorge Vistor’s Center was a large black dune known as the “Shifting Sands”. The dune made of black ash is fall-out from Ol Doinyo Lengai ("Mountain of God" in the language of the Maasai) a nearby active volcano. The fine ash is constantly blown by the winds and you can see the telltale signs on the ground where it is heading next. Small cement monuments mark the movement of the dune from year to year. In the past local Maasai use to worship at the dune. The Mountain of God was also giving some trouble while we were in NCL. We experienced a few very small tremors while staying there. Geologists suspect that the sudden increase of tremors is indicative of the movement of magma through the Ol Doinyo Lengai.