Danakil Depression

The Danakil depression runs into southeastern Eritrea from Ethiopia, ground dropping well below sea level into salt pans, lava fields and hot springs where the Arabian, African and Somali plates are pulling apart and new ocean floor is being made. Afar communities cut salt from the flats and move it by camel. Summer temperatures here are among the highest recorded anywhere on the planet.

Background

The valley measures approximately 200 by 50 km and spans the northern Afar Region, lying about 125 m below sea level. The Ethiopian Plateau rises to the west and the Danakil Alps to the east, with the Red Sea beyond them. It forms the northern part of the Afar Triangle and is the third lowest-lying place in Africa. Rifting began approximately 11 million years ago as the Danakil microplate turned counterclockwise. In the Mid- and Late Pleistocene the Red Sea flooded the basin at least four times, the last approximately 130,000 years ago, leaving fossil coral reefs and salt deposits more than 500m thick. In October 2022 the IUGS named the Danakil Rift among 100 geological heritage sites worldwide.

Source: Wikipedia, "Danakil Depression"

What's there

• The salt flats - pans below sea level worked by Afar salt cutters.
• The camel caravans - salt moved out by animal across the flats.
• The volcanic ground - lava fields and springs along the rift.
• The plate boundary - the ground where three plates are separating.

When to go

November to February is the cool season and the only practical window. Summer heat here is among the most extreme on earth. Permits are required in any season.

Practical notes

This is expedition travel needing permits, convoy, guides and full self-sufficiency, and it is rarely arranged on the Eritrean side. Heat is genuinely lethal outside the cool months. Some ground remains restricted.

Nearby

Assab is southeast, and the Buri peninsula is north.

Key facts