We meet numerous caravans of donkeys on our way from the Hamed Ela village to Dallol. |
One more caravan of donkeys on our way from the Hamed Ela camp to the Dallol volcano. |
The road to Dallol impressed me by the number of camels which is equal to infinity. |
What is the number of these camels? I guess, you may count several hundred of them only on this photo. |
Countless camels and donkeys do their job together. |
Endless camel trains on our way to Dallol. |
White salt plain on our way to Dallol. |
Donkey drivers. |
An exhilarating trip to Dallol in the Danakil desert is full of inspiring discoveries. |
Following the salt caravans in the Danakil desert. |
As usually the herd of the donkeys is located in front of the camel train. |
Camel train. |
Puddle on the road is filled with the salt water. |
Salt plain with a Lunar landscape, one may see the camel caravan in the distance. |
Tough roads to travel but the sights of the Danakil Desert landscapes are unutterable and overwhelming. |
The first natural formation made of soil and crystallised salt I've ever seen in my life. |
Some of the natural formations made of soil and crystallised salt are located by the road to Dallol. |
Lunar road diverged in this place. |
Lunar landscape and the road. |
We asked our drivers to stop near the natural formations made of soil and crystallised salt. |
Dried puddle consists of crystallised salt. |
This natural formation was created through an erosion process in the Danakil desert. |
Road is laid between the salt natural formations in the Danakil desert. |
Lunar road in the salt plain. |
Afar guards haven't forgotten to take the water. |
We have arrived at Dallol volcano - it is a 60 m high hill rising from the salt plain. |
Dallol is a formation caused by volcanic activity deep under the thick crust of salt. |
Unforgettable Dallol is one of the lowest and hottest places on Earth. |
Afar security guard poses for me. |
Dallol volcano is located in the Danakil Depression and is one of the most remote places on Earth. |
I am located on the Dallol mountain which rises 60m above the surrounding salt plains and has approximate dimensions of 1.5 x 3 km. |
Dallol is nested on top of an at least 1000 m thick layer of potash (potassium salt) reserves. |
Dallol mountain is thought to have been formed as the result of intrusion of a basaltic magma body underneath. |
Сircular depression near the center of Dallol mountain is presumably a collapsed crater. |
Dallol is a volcanic explosion crater in the Danakil Depression, northeast of the Erta Ale Range. |
Dallol has been formed by the intrusion of basaltic magma in Miocene salt deposits and subsequent hydrothermal activity. |
Only few years ago this place was the kingdom of colors, but it is completely dehydrated now. |
Phreatic eruptions took place here in 1926, forming Dallol Volcano, numerous other eruption craters dot the salt flats nearby. |
The most recent major activity of the Dallol volcano was in October 2004. |
Guards did not want to wait until we ask them to pose, and started the photo session themselves. |
Afar security guard with an assault rifle is under the spindrift clouds. |
Dallol volcano area is the hottest inhabited place on Earth, you can experience an unbearable heat here. |
Danakil Depression is located in what is effectively a northerly extension of the East African Rift Zone. |
Dallol Volcano is one of the most unusual and fabulous places on Earth. |
Danakil Depression lies in the gap resulting from gradual separation of the Danakil horst from the Ethiopian Plateau. |
Since the area lies up to 120 m below sea level, it has been repeatedly flooded from the Red Sea. |
Presumably the area was last separated from the Red Sea around 30000 years ago when volcanic activity created a barrier to sea entry. |
Following each flooding episode, partial or complete evaporation of the sea-water resulted in thick deposits of salt. |
Salt deposits in the Dallol area include significant bodies of potash in the form of Sylvite, Carnallite and Kainite. |
Dallol is considered as one of the most colourful places on Earth. |
This is the only volcano in the world below the sea level and without water over it. |
These unique phenomenon has been created by a rare coincidence of several geological factors. |
The geology of Afar Region is very unusual - the crust of Earth here is slowly spreading in three directions. |
Deposits cannot be accounted for by simple evaporation of seawater. |
Nowadays Danakil Depression is dry desert. |
Vapour, explosions and maars. |
The salts of Danakil Depression are white or transparent. |
Most colourful place on Earth? |
Crater is filled with small ponds of sulphuric acid in different colors. |
Are we on Earth? |
Additional effect is created by the unbearable heat. |
But no - we are not on another planet, Dallol is a part of human Earth. |
Most likely Dallol will never turn into mass tourist site - it is too hot and too remote. |
The characteristic yellow, amber, green and red colours are the results of sulphur and potassium salts coloured by various ions. |
The Dallol deposits include significant bodies of potash found directly at the surface. |
The immense layer of salts and the colourful iron compounds and sulphur are blended by the countless hot springs. |
Ponds are divided by salt - and often this salt is white as snow, but also - green, orange, yellow. |
Green hot springs on the Dallol mountain. |
Green ponds contain acid water. |
Salt geysers. |
Salt geyser has a strange shape - it looks like a ghost looking up in the sky. |
Here have formed rimstone formations - small stone dams. |
This mysterious geyser constantly erupts the sulphuric acid. |
The erupted brine is very hot and quickly evaporates. |
It is impossible to breathe here because of the acidic vapors. |
I“ve left my new respirator in the car thinking it is not for this place, I”ve thought I should use it on the Erta Ale volcano only. |
Dallol is the World's most weirdest volcanic crater. |
Solidified salt crystals formed a bizarre shape. |
If you want to experience an alien landscape it is not necessary to travel to another planet. |
Looking at this amazing scenery, one can easily ask - Are we still on Earth? |
Dallol volcano is a not-of-this-world place. |
Many people from our group told me that in this 2015 year Dallol looks very discolored. |
Green and white hot springs are very young, while dark red and brown hot springs are old. |
Crater of the Dallol volcano represents a riot of colors. |
This spectacular environment was created by the nature with the help of sulphur and salt formations. |
Dallol is the pure Martian landscape. |
A group of researchers from Addis Ababa. |
A researcher is going to take an acid sample. |
This source with a gurgling sulfuric acid will let the researcher to collect the sample. |
Researcher from the Addis Ababa laboratory takes the sample of acid from the source. |
Unlike me, this employee from Addis Ababa has not forgotten to wear a respirator. |
Brown colors remind me about the decreasing activity of the Dallol volcano in the nearest years. |
One of the few places where you still can find the gurgling geysers. |
This is the place where I have recorded the sound of gurgling geyser. |
When the geyser is “young”, the cone is in clear colors - white, yellow and green. |
This landscape was not created by wind or water, but with the help of acid which bubbles up from the ground. |
Even though there are very few tourists in the Danakil. |
Of course, our guide said walking there was safe (as you know, everything is safe in Africa). |
This is our guide Negasi. |
This was one of the best trips I ever did. |
In January 2011 here took place heavy rainfall. |
Excursion to the Dallol volcano is unforgettable, the active geysers and surreal salt formations are amazing. |
Hundreds of small geysers create a landscape made of surreal psychedelic colors and shapes. |
Dallol is a real hell on Earth with the presence of toxic lakes. |
A tour to Dallol lets to discover a unique geological wonder in the world: a collapsed volcano. |
What is impressive is not just the incredible colors and miracle shapes, but also how Dallol is different from the surrounding environment. |
A journey to Dallol in the Danakil depression is an extraordinary experience. |
The surrounding scenery is very impressive, it has the patterns of erosion I had never seen before. |
Dallol is an absolutely unbearable hell, but at the same time, so fascinating like the last paradise on Earth. |
The mineral formations are just as surreal as unbelievable. |
Flat salt formations. |
A trip to Dallol is a unique experience featuring various otherworldly landscapes. |
Sky blue salt formations. |
Dallol is a world in danger. |
I've been around the globe and this place really stands out as the most different place I have ever been. |
These wonderful formations are the result of a work of geysers and fumaroles. |