Fire Lake Erta Ale. Erta Ale volcano, Ethiopia Erta Ale eruption

Description

Erta Ale (Ertale) is one of the most remote in the Afar region of Ethiopia and part of the East African Rift. It is a large volcanic shield with a typical cratered caldera summit.

Description

Shield volcanoes are considered to be those from which basaltic lava flows repeatedly. They are characterized by gentle slopes; at the top there is a crater that looks like a depression. This is exactly what the Erta Ale volcano is like.

The name “Erta Ale” translates as “smoking mountain”. This place is considered one of the driest and hottest on earth.

Lava lakes Erta Ale

The top of the caldera is unique due to the long-lasting lava lakes that are located in the crater of the Erta Ale volcano. One of them periodically disappears. Studies of the surface temperature of the lake indicate that the lava flow is approximately 510-580 kg/s. Fresh lava flows on the slopes of the volcano indicate that the lakes periodically overflow, and this is very dangerous for tourists.

For a lava lake to exist, its surface and the underlying magma chamber must form a single convection system, otherwise the lava will cool and harden. There are only 5 in the whole world famous volcanoes with lava lakes, and since the Erta Ale volcano has 2 of them, this place is considered doubly unique.

Erta Ale eruption

Under the ground surrounding the volcano there is a huge pool of active magma. From above, the lake cools down and becomes covered with a crust, which periodically falls into the lava and forms fountains reaching several meters in height.

The Erta Ale volcano itself has erupted multiple times: in 1873, 1903, 1940, 1960, 1967, 2005 and 2007. During the penultimate eruption, many livestock died, and in 2007, two people went missing and were presumed dead during an evacuation.

Tourism on Erta Ale

Despite the harsh conditions, risk of eruption and extreme heat, the Erta Ale volcano Lately became popular tourist destination. Until 2002, it could only be seen from a helicopter. Now it is allowed to approach the crater itself and pitch tents on the volcano in order to observe this phenomenon at night. Tourists are expected to use common sense.

In 2012 there was unpleasant incident. A group of tourists were ambushed by militants on the edge of the Erta Ale crater. Five European tourists were killed and 4 more people were kidnapped. Since then everything tourist groups accompanied by armed guards.

How to get there?

Closest to the Erta Ale volcano locality- the city of Mekele. Local tour operators offer 3-5 day 4WD jeep tours to the volcano and an 8-day camel trek. It should be borne in mind that the area is inhabited by Afar tribes that are not the friendliest to tourists.

Erta Ale Volcano (Ethiopia) - detailed description, location, reviews, photos and videos.

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“Smoking Mountain” - this is how the name of the Erta Ale volcano is translated from Ethiopian, but those who saw it with their own eyes prefer to call it less sublimely and more specifically - the road to hell. And this is not an exaggeration at all: Erta Ale is one of the few constantly active volcanoes on the planet with regular eruptions and two whole lakes of red-hot lava “included”. Such a violent temperament is not at all surprising: Erta Ale is located in the very heart of the Afar Triangle - a zone of intense volcanic activity, where, like billions of years ago, the formation of the Earth's surface continues. However, the hellish conditions of “vacation” on Erta Ale do not frighten avid travelers: every year about a thousand tourists come here to stand on the edge of a hot crater, admiring the play of the fiery fissures of the lava lake, wander along the slopes black from solidified lava and simply breathe the Erta Ale air, temperature which reaches +50 °C.

A little geography

The Erta Ale volcano is located in northeastern Ethiopia in the remote Afar region of the Danakil Desert, the center of volcanic activity in East Africa and one of the few places on the planet where active volcanoes with lava lakes in the crater remain to this day. Erta Ale is also famous for the fact that there are two such lakes near the volcano - this makes it the only volcano of its kind on Earth. The volcano has been continuously active since 1967 and has previously had several major eruptions, the earliest records of which date back to the 1600s. Regular lava eruptions are one of the characteristic features Eartha Ale. Thanks to the lava pouring onto the slopes and then solidifying, the volcano grows - today it reaches 613 m (its base is located at 75 m below sea level). The caldera - the volcano basin - stretches for 1.6 km with a width of 700 m and includes two lava lakes 350 and 65 m wide.

What to see

In Erta Ale, without exaggeration, everything is beautiful: the coal-black slopes formed by centuries-old eruptions of hot lava, the impressively sized basin, and the hellish crater itself, on the edge of which it is so pleasant to sit and think about the eternal. Erta Ale is an attraction “for its own people”, so there is no tourist infrastructure here: the volcano’s mouth is not even fenced, and therefore it is necessary to exercise extreme caution, and it is better to forget about selfies altogether. As a souvenir of the volcano, you can take a piece of frozen lava - according to reviews from experienced gardeners, it is also an excellent fertilizer.

Erta Ale is especially beautiful at night, when fiery cracks in the lava lakes illuminate the slopes of the crater with a bright orange light - as if the damper of a steel furnace has been opened.

A trip to Erta Ale is often combined with a visit to the Valley of Dalol Geysers - a shallow depression covered with a layer of very salty water with salt crystals rising above the surface and geysers swirling everywhere.

Practical information

The closest settlement to Erta Ale is the city of Makele. Several tour operators offer 3-5 day 4WD jeep tours to the volcano and an 8-day camel trek. It should be borne in mind that the area is inhabited by Afar tribes that are not the friendliest to tourists.

May 28, 2014

Hot Ethiopia has many natural attractions. Interestingly, they are completely opposite in their appearance. Picturesque lake Tana, which is a real breath of life among the hot deserts, National parks, savannas and many kilometers of desert sands, amazing volcanoes. Erta Ale Volcano is a landmark of Ethiopia, which is as famous throughout the world as it is fantastic.

Ancient volcano in Ethiopia

“Smoking Mountain” is how the name of this hot “lake” is translated from the local dialect. Erta Ale is located below sea level in the “Afar Triangle”, where there is constant volcanic activity.

The volcano's caldera measures 1.6 x 0.7 km. By origin it is a basaltic shield volcano. Since 1967, troubled education has periodically troubled environment new lava emissions.

Lava lake in the Erta Ale crater

In the north-east of the country, in the hot Afar region, there is a famous lake, in the crater of which a hot lake splashes, in which instead of water there is viscous boiling lava. There are only five similar volcanoes in the world. Erta Ale “distinguished himself” here too. It is the only one in which there are two boiling lakes at once!

From a bird's eye view, the boiling water looks very beautiful. Red-orange fiery stripes are visible on its surface, the pattern of which is constantly changing. At times, lava overflows the bowl of the lake of fire and flows out in powerful streams.

In 2007, a flow of hot lava formed a new pattern. February 2010 was the starting point when the lava level began to rise rapidly. 30 meters - and in November of the same year, hot drops rose into the air with pops and explosions.

Erta Ale Research

One of the unique wonders of nature attracts daredevils who are not afraid of high temperatures and risk to life. Researchers began studying lava lakes in depth in 1971. The expedition, led by Harun Taziev, for the first time carried out a thorough analysis of the lava and the state of the volcano.

The gases coming to the surface were heated to 1220C. The power of thermal radiation reached 30 kW per 1 sq. meter. The temperature in the molten mass was incredible: about +600C on the surface of the volcanic crust, and at a depth of 60-70 cm it reached +900C!

Mysterious and scorched by the hot sun, it hides many surprises. The unusual Erta Ale volcano is a natural attraction that is both dangerous and attractive at the same time.

Lava lakes of Erta Ale volcano photo

general information

The volcano has been continuously active since 1967; at the same time, streams of hot lava periodically pour out from its crater (such volcanoes, formed from layers of spilled lava, are called shield volcanoes). With each of its eruptions it rises higher and higher above the Danakil depression; Now its height is already 613 m.

In 1971, an expedition led by Garun Taziev conducted the first study of the Erta Ale volcano. The gas outlet temperature ranged from 1125 to 1200° C. The thermal radiation power of the lake averaged 30 kilowatts per square meter. The temperature directly in the melt mass was 600° on the surface of the dark crust, and 900° at a depth of 70 centimeters.

IN last years Erta Ale volcano has become more unpredictable. If in 2004 the lake in the crater of the volcano turned into a tectonic stronghold, remaining in this state for almost 20 months, then in November 2010 the volcano woke up with unexpected force. The lake continually changes its level and pattern of fiery stripes, and lava flows periodically from it. Since February 2010, the lake level has risen by more than 30 meters, which ultimately led to the overflow of the lake and explosive releases of hot lava droplets into the air from November 2010. The eruption was accompanied by tremors, which significantly affected the condition of the faults in northeast africa. Scientists are closely monitoring changes in the volcano's activity, as it is located in an important seismic zone called the Afar Triangle. Noticeable plate shifts and an increase in the width of faults can significantly change geographical map our planet, in particular, affect the entire continent of Africa.

In the northeast of Ethiopia, in the Danakil Desert, is located active volcano Erta Ale, in the crater of which you can see streams of molten lava escaping from the very center of the earth. Due to the constant activity, as a result of which clouds of smoke appear over the surface of the volcano every now and then, the Erta Ale volcano got its name, translated into Russian meaning “Smoking Volcano”.

Erta Ale is a basalt shield volcano, one of five volcanoes on our planet, in the heart of which there is a lava lake. But only Erta Ale has not one, but two such sites. The tectonic pattern on the surface of the lava lakes of the Erta Ale volcano is constantly changing. Here you can see both long-frozen areas of magma, forming a thin crust, and very fresh, easily destroyed islands. This process is accompanied by chaotic bursts of bright red molten lava and emissions of accumulated gas. According to the chemical composition of the Erta Ale magma, it is compared with deep-sea volcanoes located in the middle part mountain range at the bottom of the ocean. In both cases, a low content of silicic acid in the magma is observed.

The volcano has become more unpredictable in recent years. If in 2004 the lake in the crater of the volcano turned into a tectonic stronghold, remaining in this state for almost 20 months, then in November 2010 the volcano woke up with unexpected force. The eruption was accompanied by tremors, which significantly affected the state of the faults in the northeast. Scientists are closely monitoring changes in the volcano's activity, as it is located in an important seismic zone called the Afar Triangle. Noticeable plate shifts and an increase in the width of faults can significantly change the geographical map of our planet, in particular, affect the entire continent of Africa.

From year to year, steadfastly overcoming all the difficulties of a dangerous journey, about 500-1000 tourists and researchers reach the crater of the volcano. Being so close to the center of the volcano is incredibly difficult due to the high air temperature (about 50°C) and acidic fumes. Moreover, to get to the lava lakes in the crater of the volcano, you need to walk about 13 km.

Erta Ale Volcano - PHOTO