Dallol Volcano | John Seach

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Erta Ale Range, Ethiopia

14.24 N, 40.30 E
summit elevation -48 m (Below sea level on land)
Explosion crater.

Dallol is in the Danakil depression is the lowest point and the hottest place on earth. The volcano is the lowest volcano on land. Between 1960 and 1966 the annual mean temperature at Dallol was 34 deg C.

The Dallol hot springs are an important economic source of manganese, potash, and rock salt. The volcano is located in an area 120 m below sea level on land. The hot springs at Dallol were formed by explosive eruptions which formed maars.

The Dallol Geothermal Area is an important region for astrobiology studies as the environment hosts life forms at the natural physical-chemical extremities. Fluids in the Dallol area are salty (> 500g/L) and acidic (pH ~ 0.5).

Further reading
López-García, J.M., Moreira, D., Benzerara, K., Grunewald, O. and López-García, P., 2020. Origin and evolution of the halo-volcanic complex of Dallol: proto-volcanism in Northern Afar (Ethiopia). Frontiers in Earth Science7, p.351.

Cavalazzi, B., Barbieri, R., Gómez, F., Capaccioni, B., Olsson-Francis, K., Pondrelli, M., Rossi, A.P., Hickman-Lewis, K., Agangi, A., Gasparotto, G. and Glamoclija, M., 2019. The Dallol geothermal area, Northern Afar (Ethiopia)—An exceptional planetary field analog on Earth. Astrobiology19(4), pp.553-578.

Darrah, T.H., Tedesco, D., Tassi, F., Vaselli, O., Cuoco, E. and Poreda, R.J., 2013. Gas chemistry of the Dallol region of the Danakil Depression in the Afar region of the northern-most East African Rift. Chemical Geology339, pp.16-29.

Edelmann, J. and Roscoe, R., 2010. Volcano tourism in Ethiopia and the Danakil rift zone. In Volcano and Geothermal Tourism (pp. 59-67). Routledge.

Dallol Volcano Eruptions

1926