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This is the hottest spot on the planet`s outer surface.

The Dallol area which is practically unpopulated is known to be the hottest place on earth. Thousands of years ago, this low-lying area was a salt lake which has subsequently dried up and resulted in a vast plain of salt which covers an area of more than 10 square kilometers and from which salt has been extracted since ancient times. It is estimated that there are 290 million tons of sale at Lake Afrera alone. Today one can see hundreds of Afar and Tigrayan cameleers cutting open the crust of the salt lake to produce neat rectangular salt tablets, and loading them on to thousands of camels for distribution to markets across Ethiopia.

Not far from Dallol in the Danakil Depression north of the Great Rift Valley, the only volcanic crater below sea level has remained silent since 1926 as the seabed it will one day occupy gradually widens. Another impressive natural phenomenon of this region is Er’tale, an active shield volcano in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia. It is the most active volcano in Ethiopia. Er’tale is 613 meters tall, with a lava lake, one of only five in the world, at the summit. It is notable for being the longest existing lava lake, present since the early years of the twentieth century. It is located in the Danakil Depression.