Tat Ali is a low

Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

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 ...

located in the northern part of 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� ...

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 ...

. This elevation is characterized as having an elongated summit depression that has produced a variety of rock types, ranging from

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, 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 planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

s to

pantellerite Pantellerite is a type of volcanic rock, specifically a peralkaline rhyolite. It has a higher iron and lower aluminium composition than comendite. It is named after Pantelleria, a volcanic island in the Strait of Sicily and the Type locality (geo ...

s. NNW-SSE-trending fissures cutting the volcano have fed basaltic lava flows; those NE of

Lake Afrera Lake Afrera (in Italian Lake Giuletti) is a hypersaline lake in northern Ethiopia. Located in Kilbet Rasu, Afar Region, it is one of the lakes of the Danakil Depression. It has a surface of and holds 2.4 km3 of brine. The maximal depth of Lake A ...

are of prehistoric date. Late-stage volcanism produced youthful basaltic lava flows on the floor of the summit depression, which is also the site of prominent

fumarolic A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or another rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...

activity. Tat Ali,

Erta Ale Erta Ale (or Ertale or Irta'ale; Amharic: ኤርታሌ) is a continuously active basaltic shield volcano in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia, which is itself part of the wider Afar Triangle (a barren desert region straddling Djibouti, ...

, Alu and other

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 ...

are together known as the

Danakil Alps The Danakil Alps are a highland region in Ethiopia and Eritrea with peaks over 1000 metres in height and a width varying between 40 and 70 kilometres. The area is known in the Afar language as Arrata. The alps lie along the southern Red Sea to th ...

.Handbook of Lithium and Natural Calcium Chloride By Donald E. Garrett

References

* Mountains of Ethiopia Shield volcanoes of Ethiopia Afar Region Polygenetic shield volcanoes {{Afar-geo-stub

See also

References