The lava fields surrounding the town of Dhamar are part of a volcanic field extending 80 km E that includes several stratovolcanoes and many youthful volcanic cones. Basaltic lava flows overlie older rhyolitic flows. Residents near Dhamar "spoke of a volcanic eruption that must have taken place in 1937 near the town" (von Wissmann, 1942; Rathjens and von Wissmann, 1942; cited in Neumann van Padang, 1963); this supposed activity has not been confirmed, located, or described by later work.