Danakil Depression
The Danakil Depression lies at the triple junction of three tectonic plates and has a complex geological history. It has developed as 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.
The land surrounding the Danakil Depression was once part of the Red Sea. While the water is gone, salt remains in extraordinarily large quantities, and has proven to be a valuable — and fatal — commodity for locals.
The people of nearby Dallol cut up salt blocks, pack them on camels, and transfer them to nearby cities where the blocks can be sold. It’s grueling work, but a familiar way of life for these locals, who have collected salt for more than 100 years.
Dallol Halo- Volcanic geothermal complex is a unique and spectacular system in the remote Danakil Depression of Ethiopia . This Brilliantly colored yellow , green and blue pools , massive terrace systems , noxious steaming fumaroles and myraid mineral shapes and structures are all product of a magmatic intrusion into salt . Dallol is a fairly recent feature , evolving perhaps in the last 10,000 years , well after the Danakil Sea evaporated , leaving a desolate salt plain .
The salt diapir and ongoing uplift is accompanied by extensive hydrothermal activity , recharged by seasonal rains bringing aquifers water from the highlands . The highly soluble mountain undergoes continues Karstisifaction ( making of caves ) and erosion ,tending to follow fracture systems and creating fault aligned canyons in the upper rock salt.
#At Dallol ,a sill was enjected into a weak point between the potash beds ( the last gaps of the Danakil sea ) and the Quaternary salt pan deposits of the Upper Rock Salt.
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