Dalaffilla, also called Gabuli, or Alu-Dalafilla is a high
stratovolcano
A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...
in
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
. It is the highest point of
Gulina. The only recorded eruption of Dalaffilla occurred in 2008 when lava flows from its western and northwestern flanks traveled to the northeast.
Dalafilla is part of the
Erta Ale Volcanic Segment in the northern
Afar Region
The Afar Region (; ; ), formerly known as Region 2, is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in northeastern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Afar people. Its capital is the planned city of Semera, which lies on the paved Awash, Ethiopia, Awash� ...
of Ethiopia, which contains seven volcanoes including
Erta Ale, Alu, Dalafilla and
Borale Ale. It has a shallow gradient in its lower section, but the upper portion of the volcano is extremely steep.
The Global Volcanism Program describes the volcano's location as "a hot, arid, and desolate rift basin" that lies up to 100 meters below sea level. Few people live in the area, which has limited monitoring and scientific observation of the volcano.
For example, because there were no observers, it was not known at first which volcano in the area had erupted in 2008.
Initial reports of the 2008 eruption claimed a level of lava output that turned out to be 20 times too large. The location of the eruption was also erroneously thought to be further east than it really was, due to older and imprecise maps.
Dalafilla means "cut neck" in the
Afar language.
References
Stratovolcanoes of Ethiopia
Active volcanoes
{{Ethiopia-geo-stub