The Danakil Depression is the northern part of the Afar Triangle or Afar Depression in Ethiopia and Eritrea, a geological depression that has resulted from the divergence of three tectonic plates in the Horn of Africa. It is the third lowest lying location on the continent of Africa.
Erta Ale erupting within the Danakil Depression
Mount Ayalu, the westernmost and older of two volcanoes at the southern end of the Danakil Depression
The hot springs in Danakil Depression offer a research opportunity for studying extremophile microbes.
The Afar Triangle is a geological depression caused by the Afar Triple Junction, which is part of the Great Rift Valley in East Africa. The region has disclosed fossil specimens of the very earliest hominins; that is, the earliest of the human clade, and it is thought by some paleontologists to be the cradle of the evolution of humans. The Depression overlaps the borders of Eritrea, Djibouti and the entire Afar Region of Ethiopia; and it contains the lowest point in Africa, Lake Assal, Djibouti, at 155 m (509 ft) below sea level.
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer satellite image of the Afar Depression and surrounding regions of the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arabia, and the Horn of Africa
Perspective view of the Afar Depression and environs, generated by draping a Landsat image over a digital elevation model.
Satellite image of a graben in the Afar Depression.
