Danakil Depression, which is a formation of the Great Rift Valley and sharing the Eritrean border to the East of the Tigrigna Highlands, was clearly visible to the first astronauts who walked on the moon. It is listed as one of the hottest places on the earth with temperatures souring up to 45 °C every day of the year and soaring to 55 °C during summer. The Danakil Depression is a practically an unpopulated region lying as low as 116m below the sea level. The depression lies near Lake Asale, the lowest spot in Africa. It is one of the driest and tectonically active areas on the planet. The depression’s temperatures can hit up to 50 °C and being part of the rift valley system, there are countless sulphurous springs and an astonishing part of Africa’s active volcanoes. The Danakil desert is regarded as one of the most extreme environments spotting violent volcanoes, blistering air temperatures, gases and land masses still being torn apart by massive earthly forces, making it an improbable tourism hotspot, though that is what it’s turning out to be.
Dallol, is one of the few places where potash deposits are found on the surface. These are brought to the surface by geothermal heated groundwater and can form large secondary deposits as the water that transported them evaporates. This geothermal activity or volcanic activity is indeed common in continental extension basins such as the Danakil Depression and is further evidenced by the volcanic chains in the area which include the active Erta Ale volcano.
