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Erta Ale Volcano | John Seach
Afar, Ethiopia
13.60 N, 40.67 E,
summit elevation 613 m
Shield Volcano
Erta Ale is a desert shield volcano. The name refers to a volcano as well as a mountain range. The base of the volcano is 75 m below sea level in the desert. Erta Ale volcano had an active lava lake which was present for as long as 80 years, until its draining in the 2017 eruption.
Curently there are no lava lakes at Erta Ale volcano.
Hornito at Erta Ale volcano, Ethiopia. March 2024 expedition by John Seach
Sunrise over an active hornito inside Erta Ale caldera. March 2024 expedition by John Seach
Active hornito inside Erta Ale caldera. March 2024 expedition by John Seach
Intra-caldera lava flow field. March 2024 expedition by John Seach
Intra-caldera lava flow field. March 2024 expedition by John Seach
Intra-caldera lava flow field. March 2024 expedition by John Seach
Western caldera rim of Erta Ale volcano. March 2024 expedition by John Seach
Intra-caldera lava flow. March 2024 expedition by John Seach
Inside northern end of caldera looking north. New lava from recent eruptions is dark. March 2024 expedition by John Seach
On the road NW of Erta Ale volcano
Records of the volcano date to the 1600's, but a lava lake was only identified in 1960's. The Afar language calls it "smoking mountain" which indicates it has been active for a long time. The Afar region is the only place on earth where a tectonic triple junction is located above sea level (Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and African Rift Valley).
Erta Ale volcano can be considered equivalent to submarine spreading ridges. The Erta Ale Range is 95 km long and 50 km wide. Erta Ale volcano has feature similar to the Hawaiian volcanoes of Kilauea and Mauna Loa. The caldera is 1.6 km x 0.7 km in diameter and two pit craters are often filled by lava lakes.
The summit of Erta Ale is occupied by an ellipse-shaped sink elongated NNW-SSE (1600 X 700 m). Its northern end formerly contained two pit-craters. The sink probably resulted from three collapse-structures.
A large collapse structure is located South of Erta Ale volcano. It consist of an elliptic sink-hole (3.1 x 1.8 km).
2023-2024 Eruptions
Erta Ale entered a new phase of activity beginning October 2023. Intra-caldera lava flows have filled the previous north and south pits craters. Five hornitos were present in the caldera during a 4 day visit to the volcano by John Seach in March 2024. A large part of the caldera has been covered with new lava flows.
Further reading
Xu, W., Xie, L., Aoki, Y., Rivalta, E. and Jónsson, S., 2020. Volcano‐wide deformation after the 2017 Erta Ale dike intrusion, Ethiopia, observed with radar interferometry. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 125(8), p.e2020JB019562.
Sawyer, G.M., Oppenheimer, C., Tsanev, V.I. and Yirgu, G., 2008. Magmatic degassing at Erta'Ale volcano, Ethiopia. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 178(4), pp.837-846.
Oppenheimer, C., McGonigle, A.J.S., Allard, P., Wooster, M.J. and Tsanev, V., 2004. Sulfur, heat, and magma budget of Erta ‘Ale lava lake, Ethiopia. Geology, 32(6), pp.509-512.
Barberi, F., Cheminee, J.L. and Varet, J., 1973. Long-lived lava lakes of Erta Ale volcano. Rev. Geogr. Phys. Geol. Dyn, 15, pp.347-351.
Barberi, F. and Varet, J., 1970. The Erta Ale volcanic range (Danakil depression, northern afar, Ethiopia). Bulletin Volcanologique, 34(4), pp.848-917.
Erta Ale Volcano Eruptions
2023-2024, 1967-2021, 1960, 1940, 1906, 1904?, 1903?, 1873?