Which volcano in the Democratic Republic of Congo contains the world's largest lava lake?

The volcano in the Democratic Republic of Congo containing the world’s largest lava lake is Mount Nyiragongo.

Nyiragongo rises in the Virunga Mountains near the city of Goma and the Rwandan border. Its summit crater contains a deep pool of molten basalt whose level and size have changed repeatedly as magma rises, circulates and drains through fractures in the volcano. The lake’s exceptionally fluid lava is especially hazardous because it can move rapidly when released.

The volcano is part of the East African Rift system, where the African Plate is gradually pulling apart. Nyiragongo has erupted several times in modern history, most dramatically in 1977 and 2002. During the May 2021 eruption, lava reached areas around Goma, causing deaths, evacuations and widespread destruction; the summit lava lake also drained during that event.

Nyiragongo is often confused with Ethiopia’s Erta Ale, another famous lava-lake volcano. Erta Ale is renowned for its long-lived lava lake, while Nyiragongo is identified by the record size of its lake. “Largest” describes the lava lake, not the volcano’s height.