Erta Ale, Dallol & Danakil desert (Ethiopia) photos / VolcanoDiscovery

VolcanoDiscovery stayed on Erta Ale between 25 and 28 November. We were surprised to find the south crater filled with fresh flows, and the lava lake overflowing onto the caldera. The following photos, arranged in chronological order, give an impression of the activity and the changes of the lava lake in the south crater. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)

Erta Ale volcano Nov 2010: overflowing lava lake (32 Images)

Bas bubbles bursting on the surface of the lava lake. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)

Erta Ale volcano Nov 2010: lava fountains (32 Images)

Erta Ale volcano Nov 2010: lava colors (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)

Erta Ale volcano Nov 2010: lava colors (34 Images)

Expedition photos taken during late Nov 2010 when we stayed 3 days on the crater of Erta Ale volcano in the Danakil desert. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)

Erta Ale volcano Nov 2010: people on the volcano (16 Images)

Yellow sulfur ponds, green acid lakes, towers, salt geysers, black and red salts - Dallol is perhaps the most alien and bizarre landscape on earth! (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)

Dallol Dec 2010: bizarre landscapes (95 Images)

Dallol Dec 2010: the grand salt lake (Lake Assale) (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)

Dallol Dec 2010: the grand salt lake (Lake Assale) (24 Images)

Danakil expedition Nov-Dec 2010: Rift Valley & Danakil desert (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)

Danakil expedition Nov-Dec 2010: Rift Valley & Danakil desert (52 Images)

Photos taken between Addis Ababa, the Danakil desert and Mekele town Nov-Dec 2010. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)

Danakil expedition Nov-Dec 2010: tour photos (74 Images)

Impressions from our February 2015 expedition into the Danakil desert in Ethiopia with Erta Ale volcano and Dallol hydrothermal deposits & springs as highlights - a selection of tour photos by Dietmar Berendes. (Photo: Dietmar)

February 2015 tour photos: Desert, salt and volcanoes by Dietmar Berendes (90 Images)

Desert, Salt & Volcanoes November 2011: Erta Ale and Dallol photos by Reinhard Radke (Photo: Reinhard Radke)

Desert, Salt & Volcanoes November 2011: Erta Ale and Dallol photos by Reinhard Radke (6 Images)

One of the participants of our latest Expedition to Erta Ale & Dallol, Domini Voegtli from Switzerland, kindly shared the following pictures with us. They show that the level of Erta Ale's active lava lake in the south pit crater has risen considerably during recent months.
Photos copyright: Dominik Voegtli (dominik DOT p DOT voegtli AT mail DOT com) (Photo: Dominik Voegtli)

Erta Ale volcano, Ethiopia - the lava lake in Dec 2013 (10 Images)

The first of our Danakil expeditions of the 2016-2017 winter season turned out to be an unexpected success - not only because of the flawless logistics and organisation or the friendliness with which local Ethiopians welcome international travelers, but also thanks to the very high activity at Erta Ale and Dallol!
At Erta Ale, the lava lake has been overflowing multiple times a day, sometimes even continuously, constructing a large new area of fresh pahoehoe lava flows on the caldera floor. Our main guide and organiser, Ethiopian geologist Enku, has been regularly visiting this location but never saw it this active and impressive in his 20 years experience.
And also Dallol seems to have stepped up its game: after the slow drying out and shrinking of the hydrothermal activity at this unique location between 2010 and 2015, last year´s rains had transformed it back to is former colourful and fascinating self - and this active area is still growing even in the past few weeks.
Below we gladly share with you a number of images that our participants Hans en Jooske kindly send us days after returning home from their Danakil volcano adventure. (Photo: Hans and Jooske)

November 2016 tour photos: Erta Ale & Dallol by Hans en Jooske (19 Images)

Our guest Jens-Wolfram E. who participated (for his second time!) in the most recent Danakil expedition, although still traveling, sent us a first selection of "fresh images" from both Erta Ale and Dallol: (Photo: Jens-Wolfram Erben)

Erta Ale volcano + Dallol hydrothermal field Dec 2016 - Jan 2017 impressions (8 Images)

Paul Reichert who took part in one of our latest Volcano Specials in January 2017 was lucky to witness one of Erta Ale volcano's most spectacular and intense eruptive phases in decades.
A surge of magma from depth (probably a small rifting episode) caused the lava lake in the southern pit crater of the caldera to overflow, build up a broad shield, before it collapsed, following the draining of the lake through a system of flank fissures 2-4 km downhill from 21 Jan - a mere day after Paul and his group had left.
The following is a selection of pictures of Paul, in approximate chronological order and annotated using the valuable field reports by Richard and our geologist expedition leader Enku who, along with Paul, were lucky enough to see this once-in-a-lifetime event. A big thank you goes to all of the three for sharing their information and images!
Watch the videos: 16 Jan | 17 Jan | 18-19 Jan (Photo: Paul Reichert)

Erta Ale volcano (Ethiopia): overflowing lava lake 16-19 Jan 2017 (56 Images)

Some impressions of our 'Desert, salt and volcanoes' expedition to Erta Ale and Dallol from 13 to 26 January 2018 - all images taken by participant Anastasia Ganuschenko. The new fissure eruption site which opened up on Erta Ale's flank a year before is still very active; now that some of the early lavas cooled down one can get very close to some of the lava lakes and hornitos that are still active. And thanks to the rainfall that finally came after about 4 years of drought the colourful scenery with salt deposits, acid lakes and small geysirs at the hydrothermal site of Dallol was once again looking its best!

Besides the 14-days tour group departures that we organise to this destination from mid November through to mid March we also offer customised tours at chosen dates for small groups and individuals. Please contact us through email for more information on such private expeditions to Erta Ale and Dallol! (Photo: Anastasia)

Erta Ale volcano + Dallol: tour photos Jan 2018 by Anastasia Ganuschenko (25 Images)

Below you find a photo gallery with exceptional images captured by one of our very enthusiastic volcano adventurers, Stefan Tommassini (www.fotografie-mit-seele.de), during his travels to the Danakil desert with our Ethiopian volcanologist and expedition leader in January 2018. The photographs include aerial drone images of the colourful salt deposits, hydrothermal hot springs and acid ponds in Dallol as well as the lava lakes on both eruption sites on Erta Ale shield volcan; the summit caldera with the north and south craters and the flank eruption site which has been active since 20 January 2017. If you are interested in traveling to this exceptional part of our planet, check out our 14 days 'Desert, salt and volcanoes' expedition! (c)

Erta Ale volcano & Dallol (Ethiopia): Jan 2018 photos by Stefan Tommasini (58 Images)

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