Through Ethiopia, there is an active East African fault system - the largest on Earth. It includes 60 volcanoes that erupted in the past 10,000 years. At the same time, the Afar segment of the rift includes volcanoes in Ethiopia, which erupt at present or have had large recent eruptions.
The most famous volcanoes of Ethiopia
Extreme travel around the country necessarily includes visiting at least one volcano from the list of the most popular:
Through Ethiopia, there is an active East African fault system - the largest on Earth. It includes 60 volcanoes that erupted in the past 10,000 years. At the same time, the Afar segment of the rift includes volcanoes in Ethiopia, which erupt at present or have had large recent eruptions.
The most famous volcanoes of Ethiopia
Extreme travel around the country necessarily includes visiting at least one volcano from the list of the most popular:
- The Erta Ale volcano in Ethiopia is the most famous. It erupts almost constantly. The last of its eruption occurred in 2007. It is famous for its lava lakes, which are two. This means that the lava is constantly boiling in the volcano crater. If a crust appears on the surface of the lake, it falls under its own weight into the lava, causing dangerous splashes on the surface.
- Dallall . The name of this volcano means "dissolution" or "decay". Its surroundings resemble the Yellowstone Park with its hot springs. Dallall is one of the most impressive landscapes in the world. The vast area is covered with thick salt deposits: white, pink, red, yellow, green, gray-black. It is believed that this is the hottest place on the planet, the average annual temperatures here significantly exceed +30 ° С. The influx of tourists increases every year, but these are very dangerous places. Toxic gases are released here and there is always a threat of meeting with acid puddles.
- Adua. Also known as Adva, this volcano in Ethiopia is located in the southern part of the Afar region. The last eruption was recorded in 2009. The size of its caldera is 4x5 km. Extensive basaltic lava flows cover the slopes of the mountain. The rocks here are volcanic, of good quality, suitable for tourists who like climbing. Here you can climb to a height of 300 m, and if desired - and at 400 m.
- Corbetti. The volcano is located in the Afar region of Ethiopia. This is an active stratovolcano. The last devastating eruption was in 1989 and destroyed several nearby villages and bridges, and over the previous 100 years there were about 20 eruptions.
- Chilalo-Terara. It is an isolated extinct volcano in the southeast of Ethiopia. The mountain has an elliptical base and gentle slopes rising to a height of more than 1500 m. At the top there is a large, almost circular caldera with a diameter of about 6 km.
- Alutu. The volcano is located between the lakes of Zwei and Langano in Ethiopia. It has an elongated supporting axis about 15 km long and is part of the Wonji belt in the central part of the Ethiopian fault. The volcano has several craters up to 1 km in diameter, located at different altitudes. During the eruption, Alutu threw out a lot of ash, pumice and basalt lava flows. The last eruption was 2000 years ago, but recently there have been permanent devastating earthquakes here.
In which order is it better to visit the volcanoes of Ethiopia?
If there is a desire to visit volcanoes, then, of course, you need to start with Erta Ale. There are worked out routes from Addis Ababa and Makele. Especially risky tourists can even spend the night in tents on a volcanic plateau.
Next is to visit Dallall. Such a fantastic picture is difficult to find anywhere else.
The rest of the volcanoes it makes sense to visit if you want to engage in either mountain tourism or scientific research.