Erta Ale (or Ertale or Irta'ale;

Amharic Amharic is an Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other metropolitan populati ...

: ኤርታሌ) is a continuously active

basaltic Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron ( mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% ...

shield volcano A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more viscous lava ...

in the

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 northeastern

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 ...

, which is itself part of the wider Afar Triangle (a barren

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

region straddling

Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

, Ethiopia and

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

). The volcano is located in the Danakil Depression, an area on the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea that is below

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. It is the most active of the volcanoes in Ethiopia.

Geology

Erta Ale is high, with one or sometimes two active lava lakes at the summit which occasionally overflow on the south side of the volcano. It is notable for holding the longest-existing lava lake, present since at least 1906.Barnie, T.D., Oppenheimer, C., and Pagli, C. (2016). Magmatic Rifting and Active Volcanism. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 420, 181–208. https://doi.org/10.1144/SP420.15 Volcanoes with lava lakes are rare: there were only eight in the world reported in 2019. ''Erta Ale'' means "smoking mountain" in the local

Afar language Afar is an Afroasiatic language belonging to the Cushitic branch, primarily spoken by the Afar people, native to parts of Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia. It is an official language in Ethiopia; and a national language in Djibouti and Eritre ...

and its southernmost pit is known locally as "the gateway to hell". In 2009, it was mapped by a team from the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

using three-dimensional laser techniques, in order for the mapping team to maintain a distance and avoid the lakes' searingly hot temperatures. Erta Ale is located in the Afar triple junction where three tectonic plates split apart: the African plate, the Arabian plate and the Somali plate. Specifically, it lies almost at the end of the southern Red Sea rift, where tectonic extension (via

normal fault In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...

s) proceeds in conjunction with

igneous intrusion In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...

s to generate a new

oceanic crust Oceanic crust is the uppermost layer of the oceanic portion of the tectonic plates. It is composed of the upper oceanic crust, with pillow lavas and a dike complex, and the lower oceanic crust, composed of troctolite, gabbro and ultramaf ...

between Africa and Arabia. The volcano comprises mainly mafic lavas which were brought up to the surface by dike emplacement during a

rift In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics. Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-graben ...

ing event. A major eruption occurred on 25 September 2005 which killed 250 heads of livestock and forced thousands of nearby residents to flee. There was further lava flow in August 2007, forcing the evacuation of hundreds and leaving two missing. A new eruption started in November 3, 2008 at the Alu-Dalafilla volcanic centre, at the northern end of the Erta Ale range. The latest eruptive activity started in January 2017, with outpouring of lava flows extending for kilometers from the vent, and lasted until March 2020; volcanic pulses have occurred since that time, lasting until at least April 2024. ET Afar asv2018-01 img99 way to Ertale.jpg, View of Erta Ale from the base camp STS41G-32-14.jpg, Erta Ale volcano (EA) and

Ethiopian Highlands The Ethiopian Highlands (also called the Abyssinian Highlands) is a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia in Northeast Africa. It forms the largest continuous area of its elevation in the continent, with little of its surface falling below , whil ...

(EH) as seen from space Erta Ale 491.jpg, The lava lake in the

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...

of Erta Ale ET Afar asv2018-01 img103 Ertale.jpg, The lava lake's activity in January 2018 ET Afar asv2018-01 img110 Ertale.jpg, Dry lava field on the top

Tourism

Erta Ale is the most regularly visited volcano in the Danakil Depression. However, not much is known about the volcano, and the surrounding terrain is some of the most inhospitable on Earth, making travel difficult and dangerous. The Afar region also experiences intermittent ethnic violence due to unification struggles by the native

Afar people The Afar (), also known as the Danakil, Adali and Odali, are a Cushitic peoples, Cushitic ethnic group inhabiting the Horn of Africa. They primarily live in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and in northern Djibouti, as well as the entire southern co ...

. On January 17, 2012, a group of European tourists was attacked at Erta Ale. Five tourists were killed, two taken as hostages and seven others wounded. The Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front (ARDUF) claimed responsibility for the attack and released the two kidnapped tourists in March 2012. One travel guide recommends hiring "one or maybe two armed guards or police" as guides to visit Erta Ale. Commercial tour companies offer tours to Erta Ale which are generally accompanied by military escort. In December 2017, a German tourist was fatally shot while descending Erta Ale.

In popular culture

Erta Ale was featured in the episode "Volcano" of the 2008 documentary series '' Earth: The Biography''. The lava lake on Erta Ale was shown briefly during the 2010 movie '' Clash of the Titans'' during the journey sequence where

Perseus In Greek mythology, Perseus (, ; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, the greatest Greek hero and slayer of ...

travels to the underworld. Erta Ale is featured in the 2016

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; né Stipetić; born 5 September 1942) is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unusu ...

documentary, '' Into the Inferno''.

References

External links

Photos from an expedition in Nov and Dec 2009

Photos from an expedition to Erta Ale and the Danakil in Feb. 2008
*

BBC article about Erta Ale
* Photographs o
Erta Ale
February 2015 {{Authority control Active volcanoes Volcanoes of the Great Rift Valley Shield volcanoes of Ethiopia Afar Region Calderas of Ethiopia Polygenetic shield volcanoes Mountains of Ethiopia VEI-2 volcanoes Lava lakes

Geology

Tourism

In popular culture

See also

References

External links