Page 82 - Super Earth Encyclopedia

LAKE OF FIRE

ERTA ALE

One of the world’s most active volcanoes, Erta Ale is located at the northern end
of the African Rift Valley, where Earth’s crust is being torn apart by the Arabian Plate
ripping away from Africa. Molten rock welling up from beneath the crust forms a
fiery lake of liquid basalt lava, which churns and bubbles like boiling water. At the lake
surface the lava cools to form a brittle rocky shell. But this is constantly fracturing and
sinking to give glimpses of the glowing molten lava below. Every few years a surge of
activity makes the lava lake boil up and spill over on to the surrounding landscape,
where the lava has built up a broad shield volcano of dark basalt rock.

AT A GLANCE

• LOCATION Afar Triangle, Ethiopia,
northeast Africa MOLTEN GLOW
FIRE AND STEAM • VOLCANO WIDTH 31 miles (50 km) The true nature of Erta Ale’s
•
VOLCANO TYPE Shield volcano

lava lake becomes clear as
•
HEIGHT 2,011 ft (613 m)
night falls. The crater is lit up
by the glow of the searingly
hot lava beneath the thin crust

80 of dark rock at the surface.

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