Erta Ale Volcano Ethiopia. Lake of Fire "Smoking Mountain" Erta Ale
general information
The constant activity of the volcano has been going on since 1967; at the same time, hot lava flows periodically pour out of its crater (such volcanoes, formed from layers of spilled lava, are called shield volcanoes). With each of its eruption, 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 temperature of the gas outlet varied from 1125 to 1200 ° C. The thermal radiation power of the lake averaged 30 kilowatts per square meter. The temperature directly in the mass of the melt was 600° on the surface of the dark crust, and 900° at a depth of 70 centimeters.
In recent years, the Erta Ale volcano has become more unpredictable. If in 2004 the lake in the crater of the volcano turned into a tectonic stronghold, holding out in this state for almost 20 months, then in November 2010 the volcano woke up with unexpected force. The lake now and then changes its level and pattern of fiery bands, lava flows periodically flow out of it. Since February 2010, the level of the lake has risen by more than 30 meters, which eventually led to the overflow of the lake and explosive ejections of red-hot lava drops into the air from November 2010. The eruption was accompanied by shocks that significantly affected the condition of the faults in the East Africa. Scientists are closely monitoring changes in the activity of the volcano, 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 African continent.
In the northeast of Ethiopia, in the Danakil Desert, the active Erta Ale volcano is located, in the crater of which you can see flows of molten lava escaping from the very center of the earth. Due to the constant activity, as a result of which clouds of smoke continually appear above the surface of the volcano, Erta Ale volcano got its name, which means “Smoking volcano” in Russian.
Erta Ale is a basalt shield volcano, one of the 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 splashes of bright red molten lava and emissions of accumulated gas. The chemical composition of Erta Ale magma is compared with deep-sea volcanoes located in the middle part of the mountain range at the bottom of the ocean. In both cases, there is a low content of silicic acid in the magma.
In recent years, the volcano has become more unpredictable. If in 2004 the lake in the crater of the volcano turned into a tectonic stronghold, holding out in this state for almost 20 months, then in November 2010 the volcano woke up with unexpected force. The eruption was accompanied by aftershocks, which significantly affected the state of the faults in the northeast. Scientists are closely monitoring changes in the activity of the volcano, 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 African continent.
From year to year, steadfastly overcoming all the difficulties of a dangerous journey, about 500-1000 tourists and researchers get to 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 acid fumes. Moreover, to get to the lava lakes in the mouth of the volcano, you need to walk about 13 km on foot.
Erta Ale Volcano - PHOTO
invites you to incredible adventure to one of the brightest and most mysterious countries of the African continent - Ethiopia. In the company of a popular blogger and enthusiastic traveler Sergey Doli, we will get acquainted with the descendants of one of the oldest civilizations on the planet, spend the night under the stars at the mouth of the seething Erta Ale volcano and plunge into ancient times, getting to know the legendary city of Lalibela.
You and I have to cross about half of the territory of Ethiopia, getting to the very borders of Eritrea in the Danakil Desert. We will spend the night under the starry African sky in open air "hotels", we will enter hot springs, we will plunge into the "Dead Sea" of Africa - the Afdera salt lake, where you can lie and even sit on the water surface, we will climb the Dallol volcano shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow. Located 200 meters below sea level, it is the hottest place on our planet. We will also visit the Assal salt lake, where at sunset we will watch the endless caravans of camels carrying bales of salt. In addition, we have to set up a night camp at the seething mouth of the Erta Ale volcano and enjoy the cosmic beauty of this amazing place!
At the end of our adventure, we will head to the famous city of Lalibela, often referred to as the eighth wonder of the world. Lalibela is a city of monasteries and churches carved into the rocks, reaching 10 meters in height. On the this moment Eleven stone churches of the 12th century have been preserved, which are a UNESCO heritage. Each church has its own unique architectural style, each has magnificent carvings, and each has well-preserved old paintings.
Breathtaking landscapes and majestic mountains, unique flora and fauna, primitive tribes, bizarre interweaving of history, traditions, destinies and different cultures make Ethiopia the most colorful and most adventurous country in Africa. Therefore, get ready for an amazing trip that will definitely enter the top five vivid impressions in your life. During the trip, Sergey Dolya will help you take bright and memorable pictures, and in the evenings discuss with you what it means to dedicate your life to traveling.
It should be noted that our adventures will be filmed by a quadrocopter, and upon returning home, we will mount a beautiful film for the participants as a keepsake.
Efiopia is my old dream. I have tried several times to get there, but every time the trip failed. 100 years ago, our poet, Nikolai Gumilyov, traveled through Ethiopia and took photographs of this country. In fact, he was the first blogger to travel to this country. I want to drive through the same places 100 years later and see what has changed..
Program.
Day 1.
Arrival in Addis Ababa. Check-in at the guesthouse. Rest. Excursion to Addis Ababa (visiting the museum with the skeleton of Lucy, the market, a cafe with fresh juices, Pushkin Square, Orthodox Church, mountains overlooking the city). In the evening flight to Mek'ele. Check-in at the hotel in Mekele.
Day 2
Departure by jeeps to the Danakil desert. In the evening climb Erta Ale volcano. Descent into the crater, observation of the lava lake. Overnight in huts on the edge of the outer crater.
Day 3
Descent into the crater, meeting the dawn. Breakfast. Excursion to the second crater of the volcano. Rest.
Sunset at the lava lake in the evening.
Day 4
Dawn at the lava lake. Descent from the volcano. Transfer to Afdera lake. Swimming in the lake, tour of the salt mines. Overnight on the shore of the lake under the open sky.
Day 5
Transfer to lake Assal. At sunset, watch the caravans of camels carrying salt. Overnight stay in the open air.
Day 6
Climbing the colorful volcano Dallol. Visit to salt mines. Visit to the salt canyon. The road to Mekele. Check in hotel.
Day 7
Transfer to Lalibela. On the way, stop in Veldia, where we will see the real life of the Amhara and Raya peoples. Overnight in Lalibela.
Day 8
Breakfast. Moving to the famous Christian churches carved into the rock. Visit to the northwestern group of churches: Bet Medhane Alem, Bete Maryam, Bet Meskel, Bet Danagkhel, Bet Mikael and Bete Golgotha (women are not allowed). After lunch, visit the southeastern group of churches: Bet Gabriel-Rufael, Bet Mercorios, Bet Amanuel, Bet Abba Libanos. At the end of the day, visit the most famous church 0 Bet Giorgis, considered the most elegant and best preserved church. Overnight in Lalibela.
Day 9
Breakfast. Airport transfer. Flight to Addis Ababa. Flight to Moscow.
Volcano Nyiragongo is located in national park Virunga in the Congo on the border with Rwanda. It is one of the most active volcanoes in Africa: 34 eruptions have been recorded since 1882, including many periods when activity has been continuous for many years.
The main crater of the volcano is 250 meters deep and 2 km wide, it sometimes forms a lava lake. According to the amount of lava, the lake of the Nyiragongo volcano is the most voluminous of the lava lakes today. The depth in the lake is largely dependent on the activity of the volcano. The maximum observed level of lava in the crater reached 3250m.
Nyiragongo's lava is unusually liquid and flowing, similar features are caused by a special chemical composition - it contains very little quartz. Thus, during an eruption, lava flows flowing along the slope of the volcano can reach speeds of 100 km / h.
Between 1894 and 1977, there was an active lava lake in the crater, and on January 10, 1977, when the walls of the crater collapsed, a massive eruption occurred. It lasted about an hour and claimed 70 lives, wiping out nearby villages, and although it was impossible to determine the exact number of deaths, according to unofficial estimates, there were about several thousand.
To date, the eruptions of the Nyiragongo volcano are considered unprecedented, because no other volcano in the world has such steep walls and a lava lake with such a dangerous composition.
Another strong eruption occurred in January 2002. However, fortunately, people were warned about the danger. 400,000 people managed to evacuate. And yet, many who did not hear about the impending eruption paid dearly for it. 147 people died during the eruption from asphyxiation and the effects of an earthquake caused by the activity of the volcano.
Nyiragongo erupted again 6 months later. The volcano continues to be active to this day. In June 2012, a team of scientists and intrepid explorers set foot on the shore of a lava lake boiling in the depths of the Nyiragongo crater. These pictures were taken by Oliver Grunewald during an expedition to the lake of the Nyiragongo crater.
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 sublime and more specifically - the road to hell. And this is not an exaggeration at all: Erta Ale is one of the few permanently active volcanoes on the planet with regular eruptions and two whole lakes of red-hot lava “complete”. Such a stormy temperament is not at all surprising: Erta Ale is located in the very heart of the Afar Triangle - the zone of the strongest volcanic activity, where, like billions of years ago, the formation of the Earth's surface continues. However, the hellish conditions of "rest" on Erta Ale do not frighten inveterate travelers: every year about a thousand tourists get here to stand on the edge of a hot crater, admiring the play of fiery faults of a lava lake, wander along the slopes black from frozen lava and just breathe the air of Erta Ale, temperature which reaches +50 °C.
A bit of 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. 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 incessant activity of the volcano has been observed since 1967; earlier there were several large eruptions, the earliest mention of which dates back to the 1600s. Regular ejections of lava are one of the characteristic features of Erta 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 around 75 m below sea level). The caldera - the basin of the volcano - stretches for 1.6 km with a width of 700 m and includes two lava lakes 350 and 65 m wide.
What to watch
In Erta Ale, without exaggeration, everything is beautiful: both the coal-black slopes formed by centuries-old eruptions of hot lava, and the impressive basin, and the crater full of hell, on the edge of which it is so pleasant to sit and think about the eternal. Erta Ale is a landmark "for its own", therefore tourism infrastructure there is none here: the mouth of the volcano is not even fenced, and therefore it is necessary to exercise increased caution, and it is better to forget about selfies altogether. As a memory of the volcano, you can take a piece of frozen lava - according to experienced gardeners, this is also an excellent fertilizer.
Erta Ale is especially beautiful at night, when the fiery cracks in the lava lakes illuminate the slopes of the crater with bright orange light - as if they had opened the damper of a steel furnace.
A trip to Erta Ala is often combined with a visit to the Dalol Geyser Valley - a shallow depression covered with a layer of very salty water with salt crystals rising above the surface and geyser chiplets everywhere.
Practical Information
Closest to Erta Ala locality city of Makele. Several tour operators offer 3-5 day tours to the volcano in 4WD jeeps and an 8 day camel caravan trek. It should be borne in mind that the area is inhabited by Afar tribes that are not the most friendly towards tourists.
