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41-587: 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. The Danakil Depression lies at the triple junction of three tectonic plates and has a complex geological history. It has developed as

82-699: A volcanic eruption occurred within the Afar rift at the Dabbahu and Erta Ale volcanoes. Some 2.5 cubic kilometers of molten rock was injected from below into the plate along a dyke between depths of 2 and 9 km (1 and 6 mi), forcing open an 8 m (26 ft) wide gap on the surface, known as the Dabbahu fissure . Related eruptions have taken place in Teru and Aura woredas . The rift has recently been recorded by means of three-dimensional laser mapping. The region's salt deposits were created over time as water from

123-675: A 60 kilometres (37 mi) long, 8 metres (26 ft) wide dike within days. The Afar Depression , a plate tectonic triple junction, is found in the Afar Regional State. This geologic feature is one of Earth's great active volcanic areas. Due to this volcanic activity the floor of the depression is composed of lava, mostly basalt. The continuous process of volcanism results in the occurrence of major minerals , including potash , sulfur , salt , bentonite and gypsum . In addition to these minerals, there are also promising geothermal energy sources and hot springs in different areas of

164-674: A giant rift was formed in just a few days. The rift opened when the Dabbahu Volcano , situated in the north of the region, erupted. The crack forming is thought to be part of the process in which the Arabian Plate , the Nubian Plate, and the Somali Plate, are moving apart. This new crack, 500 metres (1,640 ft) long, and 60 metres (197 ft) deep, opened when the lava from the erupting volcano flowed underground and cooled forming

205-495: A hominid jawbone in the Ledi-Geraru region of Afar. Scientists estimated that the fossil dates to around 2.8 million years ago, which is 400,000 years before the next oldest hominid fossil remains. In 2015, a hominin jawbone and teeth was discovered in the Afar region. Scientists believe that the bones belonged to a previously undiscovered ancestor. The new species was named Australopithecus deyiremeda , meaning "close relative" in

246-586: A major interest to astrobiologists . Nonetheless, in October 2019, scientists reported that terrestrial lifeforms , including extreme forms of archaea microorganisms, were not found to exist in the very hot, acidic and salty conditions present in some parts of the Danakil Depression. Among the geological points of interest to tourists are the hydrothermal system of Dallol and the Yellow Lake. Gaet'ale Pond

287-561: A new ocean basin as large as today's Red Sea, and separating the Somali plate and the Horn of Africa from the rest of the continent. The floor of the Afar Depression is composed of lava , mostly basalt . One of Earth's five lava lakes , Erta Ale is found here, as well as Dabbahu Volcano. It has been proposed that the Afar Depression is underlain by a mantle plume , a great upwelling of mantle that melts to yield basalt as it approaches

328-507: A result of Africa and Asia moving apart, causing rifting and volcanic activity. Erosion , inundation by the sea, the rising and falling of the ground have all played their part in the formation of this depression. Sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and limestone are unconformably overlain by basalt which resulted from extensive lava flows . In respect of it demonstrating 'the ongoing birth of an ocean witnessed through tectonics and volcanism in an extreme evaporite arid environment',

369-557: A skeleton, which dates to around 4.4 million years ago. Named Ardi , it is a form of the species Ardipithecus ramidus . The specimen is a distant cousin of the Australopithecus afarensis , Lucy's species. In June 2010, the oldest direct evidence of stone tool manufacture was found in the Afar region and attributed to Australopithecus afarensis . In 2013, a graduate student from the Arizona State University discovered

410-588: A substantial contribution to the development of geological sciences through history.' The Danakil Depression is a plain approximately 200 by 50 km (124 by 31 mi), lying in the north of the Afar Region of Ethiopia, near the border with Eritrea . It is about 125 m (410 ft) below sea level and is bordered to the west by the Ethiopian Plateau and to the east by the Danakil Alps , beyond which

451-578: Is a small hypersaline lake located over a tectonic hot spring in the Danakil Depression ( Afar , Ethiopia). With a salinity of 43%, Gaet'ale Pond is the saltiest water body on Earth . The pond was created in January 2005 following an earthquake, according to residents of the Ahmed'ela village, which reactivated the hot spring. 14°14′30″N 40°18′00″E  /  14.2417°N 40.3°E  / 14.2417; 40.3 Afar Triangle The Awash River

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492-414: Is covered by salt deposits, and mining salt is a major source of income for many Afar groups. The Afar Depression biome is characterized as desert scrubland . Vegetation is mostly confined to drought-resistant plants such as small trees (e.g. species of the dragon tree ), shrubs, and grasses. Wildlife includes many herbivores such as Grévy's zebra , Soemmerring's gazelle , beisa and, notably,

533-475: Is the Red Sea. The area is often referred to as the cradle of humanity ; in 1974 Donald Johanson and his colleagues found the famous Australopithecus afarensis fossil Lucy , which has been dated 3.2 million years old and many other fossils of ancient hominins have been uncovered here, prompting many palaeontologists to propose that this area is where the human species first evolved. The Danakil Depression

574-523: Is the hottest place on Earth in terms of year-round average temperatures. It is also one of the lowest places on the planet at 100 metres (330 ft) below sea level, and without rain for most of the year. Here, the Awash River dries up in a chain of salt lakes such as Lake Afrera , never reaching the Indian Ocean. Mount Ayelu is the westernmost and older of the two volcanoes at the southern end of

615-477: Is the main waterflow into the region, but it runs dry during the annual dry season, and ends as a chain of saline lakes . The northern part of the Afar Depression is also known as the Danakil Depression . The lowlands are affected by heat, drought , and minimal air circulation, and contain the hottest places (year-round average temperatures) of anywhere on Earth. The Afar Triangle is bordered as follows (see

656-659: The Cleveland Museum of Natural History . On March 5, 2005, another skeleton, estimated to be 3.8 million years old and said to be the world's oldest bipedal hominid skeleton , was found in the region. Yohannes Haile-Selassie led digs there each year from 2004 to 2007. On March 24, 2006, it was reported that a "significantly complete" cranium had been found at Gawis in the Gona area. The cranium appears as an intermediate form between Homo erectus and Homo sapiens . On October 1, 2009, scientists reported that they had found

697-509: The Eritrean–Ethiopian War of 1998 to 2000. On January 18, 2012, five foreign tourists were murdered while on holiday in the region. The Ethiopian government has accused Eritrean gunmen of being responsible for the attack. Many governments around the world advise against traveling to the Afar region, citing increasing security concerns. Additionally, this region is also a hub for Afar–Somali clashes , due to many kebeles being put into

738-471: The International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) included 'The Danakil Rift depression and its volcanism' in its assemblage of 100 'geological heritage sites' around the world in a listing published in October 2022. The organisation defines an IUGS Geological Heritage Site as 'a key place with geological elements and/or processes of international scientific relevance, used as a reference, and/or with

779-507: The Middle Awash region and numerous prehistoric sites of fossil hominin discoveries, including: the hominids and possible hominins, Ardi , or Ardipithecus ramidus , and Ardipithecus kadabba , see below; the Gawis cranium hominin from Gona ; several sites of the world's oldest stone tools; Hadar , the site of Lucy , the fossilized specimen of Australopithecus afarensis ; and Dikika ,

820-429: The standard of living for the Afar Regional State as of 2005 include the following: 67.3% of the inhabitants fall into the lowest wealth quintile; adult literacy for men is 27% and for women 15.6%; and the regional infant mortality rate is 61 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, which is less than the nationwide average of 77; at least half of these deaths occurred in the infants' first month of life. On 20 April 2007,

861-509: The Afar region by the government. These include key towns like Gadamaytu, Undufo and Adaytu where battles between the Afar region and Somali region militaries happen. These conflicts have had many losses, and have led to the south-eastern parts of the region being an unstable zone. Hadar , a community in Afar, was the site of the discovery in 1973–1974 of " Lucy ", the Australopithecus afarensis skeletal remains, by Donald Johanson of

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902-517: The Danakil Depression. The other active volcano, Erta Ale , is one of several crater lakes of lava bubbling from the Earth's mantle. Additionally, the area contains the Dallol sulfur springs, or hot springs . These wet environments at the Danakil Depression are being investigated to help understand how life might arise on other planets and moons. Many microorganisms living here are extremophilic microbes of

943-483: The Red Sea periodically flooded the depression and evaporated; the most recent such flood was roughly 30,000 years ago. Over the next millions of years, geologists expect erosion and the Red Sea to breach the highlands surrounding the Afar Depression and flood the valley. Geologists predict that in about 10 million years the whole 6,000 km (3,700 mi) length of the East African Rift will be submerged, forming

984-458: The basis of a survey performed in December 2003 that nomadic inhabitants had 1,990,850 cattle (an 83.8% share of those animals in the region that year), 2,303,250 sheep (90.6%), 3,960,510 goats (90%), 759,750 camels (85.9%), 175,180 asses (92.5%), 2960 mules (88.6%), and 900 horses (100%). As of 2012 , the area has been increasingly unstable, as tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea remain high after

1025-636: The earliest (fossil) hominins and of human tool culture, as well as many fossils of various flora and fauna. Dallol in the Danakil Depression is one of the hottest places year-round anywhere on Earth. There is no rain for most of the year; the yearly rainfall averages range from 100 to 200 mm (4 to 8 in), with even less rain falling closer to the coast. Daily mean temperatures at Dallol ranged from 30 °C (86 °F) in January to 39 °C (102 °F) in July in six years of observations from 1960 to 1966. The Awash River , flowing north-eastward through

1066-519: The entire region 247,255 households were counted, which results in an average for the Region of 5.6 persons to a household, with urban households having on average 4 and rural households 6 people. Religion in Afar Region (2007) In the previous census, conducted in 1994, the region's population was reported to be 1,106,383 of which 626,839 were men and 479,544 women; urban inhabitants were 85,879 or 7.76% of

1107-567: The event. The Afar Depression is the product of a tectonic triple-rifts junction (the Afar triple junction), where the spreading ridges forming the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden emerge on land and meet the East African Rift . The conjunction of these three plates of Earth's crust is near Lake Abbe . The Afar Depression is one of two places on Earth where a mid-ocean ridge can be studied on land,

1148-510: The last viable population of African wild ass ( Equus africanus somalicus ). Birds include the ostrich , the endemic Archer's lark , the secretary bird , Arabian and Kori bustards , Abyssinian roller , and crested francolin . In the southern part of the plain lies the Mille-Serdo Wildlife Reserve . The Afar Triangle is a cradle source of the earliest hominins . It contains a paleo-archaeological district that includes

1189-692: The lowest in Africa. The southern part of the region consists of the valley of the Awash River , which empties into a string of lakes along the Djibouti–Ethiopia border . Other notable landmarks include the Awash National Park . Based on the 2017 projections by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), the Afar Regional State has a population of 1,812,002, consisting of 991,000 men and 821,002 women; urban inhabitants number 346,000 of

1230-453: The native Afar language. The species lived around 3.5–3.3 million years ago, about the same time period as other hominins such as Australopithecus afarensis . Source: Like other regions in Ethiopia, Afar Region is subdivided into administrative zones , in case of Afar, into six zones (and one special woreda , an administrative subdivision which is an autonomous area and is not part of

1271-501: The other being Iceland . Within the triangle, the Earth's crust is slowly rifting apart at a rate of 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) per year along each of the three rift zones forming the "legs" of the triple junction. The immediate consequences are recurring sequences of earthquakes with deep fissures in the terrain hundreds of metres long, and the valley floor sinking broadly across the depression. During September and October 2005 some 163 earthquakes of magnitudes greater than 3.9 and

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1312-523: The paved Awash – Assab highway. It is bordered by Eritrea to the north and Djibouti to the northeast; it also shares regional borders with the Tigray , Amhara , Oromo and Somali regions. The Afar Triangle , the northern part of which is the Danakil Depression , is part of the Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia , and is located in the north of the region. It has the lowest point in Ethiopia and one of

1353-490: The population, a further 1,466,000 were pastoralists. Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), the Afar Regional State has a population of 1,390,273, consisting of 775,117 men and 615,156 women; urban inhabitants number 185,135 or 13.32% of the population, a further 409,123 or 29.43% were pastoralists . With an estimated area of 96,707 square kilometers, this region has an estimated density of 14.38 people per square kilometer. For

1394-550: The population. Afar is predominantly (89.96%) spoken in the region and is the working language of the state. Other languages with a significant number of speakers in the state include Amharic (6.83%), Tigrinnya (1.06%), Argobba (0.79%), Wolaitta (0.43%), and Oromifa (0.4%). According to the CSA, as of 2004 , 48.57% of the total population had access to safe drinking water , of whom 26.89% were rural inhabitants and 78.11% were urban. Values for other reported common indicators of

1435-499: The region's national parks. Because the region's tourism development is still in a poor state there are only two lodges in Awash National Park . The CSA estimated in 2005 that farmers in the Afar Regional State had a total of 327,370 cattle (representing 0.84% of Ethiopia's total cattle), 196,390 sheep (1.13%), 483,780 goats (3.73%), 200 mules (0.14%), 12,270 asses (0.49%), 99,830 camels (21.85%), 38,320 poultry of all species (0.12%), and 810 beehives (less than 0.1%). The CSA estimated on

1476-556: The region. Most of the region's mineral potential are found in Dallol , Berhale and Afdera woredas of Zone Two. Elidar , Dubti and Millee in Zone One, and Gewane in Zone Three, also have some mineral possibilities. Afar is home to peculiar wildlife, which notably include the African wild ass , Grevy's zebra , wild fox, wild cat, cheetah, and ostrich. These wild animals are found in

1517-457: The regional government announced that it had increased health coverage from 34% to 40%, the result of construction of 64 new health clinics, increasing the total for the region to 111. Afar Depression , Erta Ale active volcano, Awash National Park , Yangudi Rassa National Park , Hadar and Aramis areas, are the major tourist attraction area of the region. The hot springs, Afar culture and cultural games are other attraction areas. In 2005,

1558-462: The site of the fossilized child Selam , an australopithecine hominin. In 1994, near the Awash River in Ethiopia, Tim D. White found the then-oldest known human ancestor: 4.4 million-year-old Ar. ramidus . A fossilized almost complete skeleton of a female hominin which he named " Ardi ", it took nearly 15 years to safely excavate, preserve, and describe the specimen and to prepare publication of

1599-564: The southern part of the Afar Region, provides a narrow green belt which enables life for the flora and fauna in the area and for the Afars , the nomadic people living in the Danakil Desert . About 128 kilometres (80 mi) from the Red Sea the Awash ends in a chain of salt lakes, where its waterflow evaporates as quickly as it is supplied. Some 1,200 km (460 sq mi) of the Afar Depression

1640-446: The surface. 11°30′N 41°00′E  /  11.5°N 41.0°E  / 11.5; 41.0 Afar Region The Afar Region ( / ˈ ɑː f ɑːr / ; Afar : Qafar Rakaakayak ; Amharic : ዓፋር ክልል ), formerly known as Region 2 , is a regional state in northeastern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Afar people . Its capital is the planned city of Semera , which lies on

1681-736: The topographic map): on the west by the Ethiopian Plateau and escarpment ; to the north-east (between it and the Red Sea) by the Danakil block ; to the south by the Somali Plateau and escarpment; and to the south-east by the Ali-Sabieh block (adjoining the Somali Plateau). Many important fossil localities exist in the Afar region, including the Middle Awash region and the sites of Hadar , Dikika , and Woranso-Mille. These sites have produced specimens of

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