Erta Ale

About

Erta Ale (or Ertale or Irta'ale, Amharic) is a continuously active shield volcano in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia, which is itself part of the wider Afar Triangle (a barren desert region straddling Djibouti, Ethiopia and Eritrea). The volcano is located in the Danakil Depression, an area on the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea that is below sea level. It is composed of basalt, and it is the most active of the volcanoes in Ethiopia.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.