Alien Looking Ethiopia

Ethiopia is Africa's oldest independent country. It is a wonderful place rich in volcanos, lakes, rivers and other, unusual wonders of nature. In the most far-away of Ethiopia is the lowest part of Africa. This place is called The Danakil Desert. The Danakil Desert lies in the north-eastern Ethiopia. The homeland of the Afar people, it is known for its heat and for the Afar Depression, lying up to 100 m below sea level. Here a tectonic fault is located, it is usually called the Great Rift Fault of Africa.

Here you can also enjoy the view of acting and extinct volcanos. Great lava fields, multi-colored mineral formations, the most accessible lava lakes are considered to be the most wonderful places which are enough to know about to visit Ethiopia. The Danakil Desert has a lot of wonders to get acquainted with. Here you can find Dallol Volcano, Black Lake, a canyon, mineral nodes which resemble mushrooms, a salt lake which is called Lake Assale, salt caravans, Erta Ale Volcano with lava lakes, and you can also meet people there who are really far from our modern world.

Vulcano Dallol Territory. If you wish to enjoy the beauty of Dallol Vulcano, it's better to stay at Hameleda place located near Lake Assale. Dallol is a volcanic explosion crater in the Danakil Depression, northeast of the Erta Ale Range in Ethiopia. It was formed during a phreatic eruption in 1926. In four kilometres there is a boarder with Eritrea. The territory is disputable and the interclan struggle is rather severe, so, when visiting this place it's better to be very careful.

Dallol is the lowest world volcano. It is nested on top of an at least 1000m thick layer of quaternary evaporates including large potash (potassium salt) reserves. Dallol mountain is thought to have been formed as a result of intrusion of a basaltic magma body underneath. The characteristic white, yellow and red colours are the result of sulphur and potassium salts coloured by various ions. Here it is not allowed to smoke, to run, to wear flip-flops as acid is everywhere, and this place is really dangerous.

Erta Ale is a continuously active basaltic shield volcano in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia, the most active volcano in the country. Have a look at the amazing view! The mystery of this volcano surrounds you once you see Erta Ale.

The road from Dallol Vulcano to Erta Ale will take 10 hours by car and 2.5-3.5 hours on foot. Erta Ale is 613 metres (2,011 ft) high, with one or sometimes two active lava lakes at the summit which occasionally overflow to the south side of the volcano. Erta Ale means "smoking mountain" in the local Afar language and its southernmost pit is known locally as "the gateway to hell".

When reaching the voclano itself, you will pass a salt lake and sand dunes. When you see Erta Ale you will understand that this volcano is not actually a volcano because it has no cone. Erta Ale is constatnly changing. In 2002, the lava lake was observed to be switching between low and high convection phases.This dense surface region traps gases in the conduit leading to slight pressurization.

Acid Black Lake: It is located not far from Dallol. Though it is not really far away, nobody walks to this place. You can reach it only by a vehicle. This is a lake with chemical acid. The place itself is wonderful. The landscape reminds looks like Martial.

Mineral salts.This place is sometimes called a thermosource, but in fact, these formations are the fumaroles of Dallol Volcano.

Lake Assale. Lake Assale lies within the Danakil Desert. It is salty due to its specific location. It is placed within a region known as the Afar Triangle. It’s a hot place on earth and the air temperature can easily reach 50 degrees Celsius. The closer you get to the Lake the higher temperature rises.

Salt Caravans. Such caravans are also called Azalea. Sometimes there are more than 100 camels in a row.

Salt has always been a real gold for African inhabitans. That's why the job dealing with salt transportation is very important. Focolo ("salt cutters") work hard, they break up the solid crust of the lake. Only about the upper 10 cm can be used. After the work of axes, several focolo join their forces to break up meter-sized fragments of the crust. Cutting the salt blocks requires a good eye and a professional feeling of the material. While the salt cutters and salt shapers are at work, the camel owners and their animals rest. They wait until enough blocks are ready for packing.The caravans are moving all the time. It looks like a Great People Resettlement is taking place.