The Danakil Depression

One of the hottest, driest, lowest and most desolate places on earth.

This geological depression, sometimes called the Afar Triangle or the Afar Depression, is situated in the north east of Ethiopia and extends into neighbouring Eritrea and Djibouti, the area that is commonly known as the Horn of Africa. It is probably the most inhospitable place on the planet and is deserving of its nickname, the "Devil's Kitchen".





Part of Africa's Great Rift Valley, it is one of the hottest areas on earth and one of the driest, with only a few inches of rain falling each year. It is also one of the lowest regions, in places more than 120 m (390 ft) below sea level.

Apart from the narrow green strip along the banks of the Awash River, the landscape is a mixture of desert scrub, rocky outcrops and mountains. About 1,200 sq km (463 sq mi) of the income for many of the nomadic Afar tribespeople who inhabit this hostile environment.

The base of the Depression is composed of basalt lava and the whole area is a great source of interest to geologists and volcanologists. Hundreds of small earthquakes shake the area every year and volcanic cones and deep cracks in the earth are commen sight.




There are bright yellow fields of sulphur to be seen, not to mention places where boiling water and steam come bubbling out of rocks.

Despite the almost unremitting bleakness of the area, the few intrepid travellers who make the effort to go there are always left with adeep and lasting impression of this most extraotdinary landscape.