Anthropology

paleotn

(23,028 posts)

14. The danger isn't just the vulcanism. The Afar region is politically unstable in the extreme.

Sat Jun 20, 2026, 09:20 AM

1 hr ago

A visit to the Danakil depression requires heavily armed guards and even then there's no guarantee of safety. The lava lake is one of the vents of the volcano Erta Ale. One of the most volcanically active places on earth. The Rift Valley itself is a pretty good analog for the giant rift that began ~200 million years ago splitting North America and Africa, creating the Atlantic Ocean. Almost like going back in time hundreds of millions of years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erta_Ale

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Never seen a picture of the great rift valley before. [View all] applegrove 16 hrs ago OP

Amazing... hlthe2b 15 hrs ago #1

It is where they have found early, early hominids in applegrove 15 hrs ago #2

Yup... It would be fascinating to visit. hlthe2b 15 hrs ago #3

Decades ago the was a 'glamping' trip you could take applegrove 15 hrs ago #4

Saw it in person about 6 years ago. It's impressive. sinkingfeeling 14 hrs ago #5

Wow Farmer-Rick 14 hrs ago #6

The Gods Must Be Crazy JoseBalow 14 hrs ago #7

That was my exact reaction as well. Bev54 13 hrs ago #8

On the bucket list. paleotn 13 hrs ago #9

Never heard of the lava lake. It does sound dangerous. applegrove 13 hrs ago #11

The danger isn't just the vulcanism. The Afar region is politically unstable in the extreme. paleotn 1 hr ago #14

This message was self-deleted by its author applegrove 13 hrs ago #10

It is a very famous and significant geological feature. Not only because rift valleys are potential lakes and oceans, Martin68 13 hrs ago #12

Looks like AI to me. LudwigPastorius 13 hrs ago #13