ACIDIC pools of neon yellow and green bubble between the rocks of a sprawling landscape branded the "Gateway to Hell". As if ripped straight from a sci-fi comic book, the alien-looking Danakil Depression lies 100m below sea level in the depths of Ethiopia. The depression is one of the hottest and most inhospitable places on Earth. With its blistering heat, acid, pools, chemical stench and crater lakes simmering lava from Earth's mantle, the unwelcoming vast desert plain stretches more than 120 miles across the remote Afar Triangle. Sitting at the junction of three tectonic plates that are slowly separating, it is one of the lowest places on the planet and is home to some of its most compelling visuals. It is a beautiful and eerie alien landscape - with its springs sometimes dubbed the "killer lakes". Dead animals and insects are often spotted around the edge of the sulfur-spewing springs - either from drinking the toxic or water or inhaling too much gas in the carbon dioxide-rich air.
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Danakil Depression
The Experience
The Danakil Depression is located in the Afar Depression - also known as the Afar Triangle. This depression is around 410 feet below sea level (more than Death Valley, which reaches 282 feet below). Dallol in Danakil Depression, is where colors seem to burst forth from the ground, where you get to walk on earth the color of rust among chimneys spouting out acrid fumes of sulfur. Without the scorching heat and the rotten egg smell of sulfur, you can easily believe you are walking in a fairy-tale land where the munchkins live. Besides the fascinating geographic aspect of the Depression. It is also known as the cradle of humanity (the jury is actually still out on this, though), and it was the site of the famous Australopithecus fossil, "Lucy," in 1974. In addition to this amazing find, paleontologists have since found many other fossils of ancient hominins in the Depression. Also, Lucy is no longer believed to be in our direct lineage as first thought.
Locate the Danakil Depression
Almost Extraterrestrial Scene
In oppressively dry heat and a miasma of sulfur and chlorine, the rocky landscape sprouts patches of neon green and yellow that resemble oozing scrambled eggs. Near-boiling pools of acidic water bubble between odd formations of rocks and minerals: white beehive-shaped mounds of salt, yolk-colored lattices of sulfuric crust, purplish-red crumbles. Nearby, iron-rich rock fans out into flat mushroom shapes. The ground crackles hollowly underfoot and emits the hiss of bubbling liquid. Cones and small mineral chimneys babble from one-holed spouts in alien whispers.
Hot springs are found in this scorching desert and depression of lakes of lava and the world's highest average temperatures. Around the world, tourists love jumping into the warm and soothing waters of natural thermal springs. But in this baking world, that is probably the last thing on people's minds. These are centered on the hydrothermal systems of Yellow Lake and Dallol. This depression gets to break at least one more world record. That of the saltiest lake on earth. The Gaet'ale Pond has an incredible salinity of 43%. It is one of the youngest world record setters, as it was only created in 2005 after an earthquake in the region.
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