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Erta Ale volcano is a large basaltic shield volcano in the Erta Ale volcanic range in the central northern Danakil depression (NE Ethiopia).
It is famed for its persistent lava lake which has been active during most of the past decades since it was first discovered in the 1960s.
Erta Ale is only 613 m high, but as typical for a shield volcano has a very gentle slopes and a large 40 km diameter base. The summit is truncated by a complex, elongated 1700 x 600 m wide caldera which contains vast lava flows and several larger and smaller pit craters, most notably the active north and south crater, which contains the lava lake at present.
Erta Ale is one of the main attractions of the Danakil, and had became a popular tour destination in recent years. Unfortunately, the deadly attack on 4 January 2012 against tourists and scientists camped on the crater rim, in which several were killed, illustrates that the area is politically unstable and can be subject to terrorist attacks. Anyone visiting the volcano should be aware of this.
Shield volcano 613 m / 2,011 ft
Danakil depression, Ethiopia, 13.6°N / 40.66°E
Current status: erupting (4 out of 5)
Erta Ale webcams / live data | ReportsErta Ale volcano videosErta Ale volcano books | Tours
Erta Ale volcano eruptions:
1873(?), 1903(?), 1904(?), 1906, 1940, 1960, 1967-2004, 2005-ongoing
Typical eruption style:Effusive. Persistant lava lake.
Last earthquakes nearby
Erta Ale volcano toursDesert, salt and volcanoes (14 days expedition to Erta Ale volcano and Dallol hydrothermal field (Danakil desert, Ethiopia))
Latest satellite images  Sentinel hub | Landsat 8
Erta Ale (Ethiopia) volcano news:
Erta Ale volcano (Ethiopia): lava lake overflows
Sunday Nov 13, 2016 21:06 PM | BY: T
Overflow of Erta Ale's lava lake (Nov 2010 archive image)
The lava lake in the volcano's southern pit crater started again to overflow repeatedly since early November. Fresh lava flows have been covering significant parts of the caldera floor, our expedition leader reported.
A more detailed report will follow as soon as our ongoing expedition returns towards the end of the month.
Previous news
Wednesday, Mar 02, 2016
The level of the active lava lake in the volcano's southern pit crater of the summit caldera has sunk a bit again after its last overflow in mid January, but remains highly agitated. Our expedition leader Enku who was there with a small group from 12-15 February reported: ...
[more]
Monday, Jan 18, 2016
The lava lake of Erta Ale has overflown, our correspondents from Ethiopia reported. The first lava over-spilled the rim of the containing crater at midnight of 15-16 Jan 2016. It seems that the situation is similar to the spectacular events in November/December 2010 when the lava lake last overflowed. ...
[more]
Thursday, Dec 03, 2015
During our recent volcano expedition to the Danakil depression, we have observed the active lava lake of Erta Ale - which had been at very high level just a few meters before overflowing - for three continuous days (19-21 November 2015). ...
[more]
Saturday, Nov 21, 2015
The lava lake in the southern pit of the caldera, 30-40 meters in diameter, remains very active and approaches again levels close to overflowing the margins of the pit, being only a few meters below the floor of the caldera. ...
[more]
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