Erta Ale

Erta Ale

Located in the Danakil Depression (or Afar Depression) in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia, it is one of the driest, lowest and hottest places on earth. At best the region is 77 °F and at worst 118 °F, and the area is beset with drought as it has almost no rain for most of the year. 100 feet below sea level, the area has no trees, and little in the way of roads.
It is close to the border with the politically unstable Somalia. and the over one million nomadic Afar people who live in the area have had a strained and violent relationship with the government for many years and tend to be hostile and suspicious of foreigners. Should one actually succeed in crossing the 100 plus degree expanse of desert to get to the Erta Ale volcano, things will only get hotter.
Known by the Afar as the "smoking mountain" and "the gateway to hell" Erta Ale is a 2,011 foot high constantly active basaltic shield volcano. It is one of only a handful of continuously active volcanos in the world, and member of an even more exclusive group, volcanos with lava lakes. While there are only five known volcanos with lava lakes in the word, Erta Ale often has two active lava lakes, making it a unique site in the world.
Erta Ale is the longest lava lake known to have been in existence, as it was initially discovered in 1906. For a lava lake to exist there must be a careful balance between the surface of the lava lake and the magma chamber below form a constant convecting system, or the entire thing will cool and solidify. After research was conducted at Erta Ale scientist realized that for Erta Ale's lava lakes to exist, "at least 10-fold more" lava must be being deposited into "faults and cavities beneath the base of the volcano," meaning that beneath the ground surrounding Erta Ale is an enormous pool of active magma.

he lake goes through cycles and will cool, form a black layer on top, and then suddenly convect back into liquid lava. Occasionally, due to pressure, "fountains" of lava will form spewing lava in 6 to 13 foot high plumes.
The volcano itself erupts on occasion and has erupted in 1873, 1903, 1940, 1960, 1967, and more recently in 2005 when it killed hundreds of livestock and forced thousands to flee. In 2007 lava flows once again forced evacuation and two people went missing, and were presumably killed.
However despite the harsh conditions, danger of volcanic eruption, and extreme heat Erta Ale has become something of a tourist destination recently. Whereas in 2002 the area was accessible only by helicopter, today adventure tourism groups take trips to the volcano lakes and it is now possible to drive to within 7 km of the volcano. The local Afar people work as transports and tourist guides pulling in decent money. The tourism may notice an uptick as the Erta Ale lava lake was used as the setting for the entrance to hell in the 2010 Clash of the Titans movie.

Read more about Erta Ale on Atlas Obscura...

Category: Natural Wonders, Fiery Wonders, Martian Landscapes, Geological Oddities, Intriguing Environs
Location: Irta'ale Isate Gemora YeFelek'ebet Gudgwad, Ethiopia
Edited by: Dylan, atimian, fdaske, Rachel