Erta Ale Volcano

Erta Ale is a phenomenal volcano located in the Afar region of the northeastern Ethiopia which is known to have a persistent lava lake activity. It rises more than 600m from below sea level in the barren Danakil depression, a desert area stretching across the border with Eritrea.
This remarkable volcano of incomparable beauty is the most active in Ethiopia; it is notable for erupting continuously since the early nineteen hundreds, making it one of the longest continuously erupting volcanoes in the world. Erta Ale, or the “Smoking Mountain” in the language of the Ethiopian people, is classified as a shield volcano. It is 613m high; the summit caldera has two large steep-sided pit craters (north and south) and one smaller pit situated at the southeast side of the north pit. The caldera has an elliptical structure with approximate dimensions of 1600 x 700m.

Volcanoes are one of nature’s most breathtaking and destructive forces. When a volcanic eruption takes place, it releases a huge amount of energy which is far greater than the energy of the most powerful nuclear bomb. However, they are also the life force of our planet. They can form great mountains and create new land.
Volcanoes bring to the surface many of the minerals that plants need in order to grow well. In a way, this has led to trouble because people have gathered round the fertile volcanic regions. And because of this, eruptions have now and then killed many people and done great damage to poverty.

Erta Ale´s last major eruption took place on the 25th of September 2005, which unfortunately killed numerous livestock and forced thousands of people to flee from their homes. In August 2007, additional lava flow took place forcing hundreds of people to evacuate their homes and leaving two missing.

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