Pico Basilé

Pico Basilé (formerly Pico de Santa Isabel or Clarence Peak), located on the island of Bioko, is the tallest mountain of Equatorial Guinea. With an elevation of 3,011 metres (9,879 feet), it is the summit of the largest and highest of three overlapping basaltic shield volcanoes which form the island. From the summit, Mount Cameroon can be seen to the north-east. Pico Basilé lies close to the city of Malabo. The very top is used as a broadcast transmitting station for RTVGE (Radio Television Guinea Ecuatorial) and microwave relay station for various communication networks. The peak forms a part of Pico Basilé National Park, created in April 2000 The boundaries of Bioko Norte and Sur run near the summit. All three shield volcanoes on Bioko Island are listed in the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program’s database of active volcanoes, though only Pico Basilé has erupted in historic times (most recently in 1923). Bioko was formed along the Cameroon line, a major northeast-trending geologic fault that runs from the Atlantic Ocean into Cameroon. This line includes other volcanic islands in the Gulf of Guinea, such as Annobón, Príncipe and São Tomé, along with the massive stratovolcano of Mount Cameroon. The other island volcanoes to the southwest of Bioko Island are extinct.