Lava surge at Erta Ale volcano reaches historic camp for first time in 20 years, Ethiopia

A surge of lava at Erta Ale volcano has filled the southern pit summit and extended beyond for the first time in 2 decades.

Satellite imagery detected a strong thermal anomaly on January 12, 2025, showing lava overflowing in a southeastern direction as vigorous spattering from a sizable hornito continued to eject molten clots that merged into lava flows.

Reports from the ground indicate that the lava has recently reached the area of the historic camping huts not seen in the past 20 years.

“Last night, Erta Ale’s lava flow reached unprecedented levels, filling the old caldera and extending to the old historic camping huts for the first time in 20 years,” local tour guide Negasi Teklay from Mek’ele reported on January 14.

“This extraordinary event transformed the landscape. The volume of lava flowing was a sight to behold, marking a significant moment for visitors and locals alike. Witnessing such a dramatic filling of the caldera is a rare occurrence,” he said.

Thermal data on December 28, 2024, showed a new lava flow moving about 180 m (590 feet) northwest, curving southwest, and extending over 230 m (755 feet) before stopping at the western summit wall. A small thermal anomaly was also visible in the northern pit summit.

Most of the previous lava flows had cooled but two vents continued to emit thermal anomalies by December 23. On December 8 and 13, satellite images identified a small anomaly over a vent in the southern pit summit. A second smaller anomaly was detected 85 m (280 feet) northwest.

Analysis indicated that lava from one vent flowed south-southwest for about 200 m (656 feet). Another flow from the northwest vent traveled around 100 m (328 feet) northwest before turning northeast for 300 m (984 feet) and then west-northwest for 230 m (755 feet), eventually stopping at the western summit wall.

Erta Ale, a basaltic shield volcano in Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression, has a 50 km (31 miles) wide edifice that rises over 600 m (1 969 feet) from below sea level.

The summit hosts a 0.7 x 1.6 km (0.4 x 1 mile) crater containing steep-sided pit craters. Another depression, 1.8 x 3.1 km (1.1 x 1.9 miles), lies southeast of the summit which is defined by curvilinear fault scarps.

The volcano has maintained a persistent lava lake since at least 1967 and possibly as early as 1906. Recent fissure eruptions have occurred on the northern flank. Its primary rock compositions include basalt, picro-basalt, and basaltic andesite, forming within the rift zone at an intermediate crust depth of 15 to 25 km (9 to 15 miles).

The volcano is located in a sparsely populated region with approximately 2 680 people living within a 5 km (3 miles) radius, 2 800 within 10 km (6 miles), and 8 860 within 30 km (19 miles). The broader area within 100 km (62 miles) has a population of around 235 100.

References:

¹ Erta Ale volcano (Danakil depression, Ethiopia): yet another lava batch in southern pit crater – VolcanoDiscovery – January 14, 2025

² Erta Ale – GVP – Accessed on January 17, 2025

Rishika Yadav

Rishika holds a Master’s in International Studies from Stella Maris College, Chennai, India, where she earned a gold medal, and an MCA from the University of Mysore, Karnataka, India. Previously, she served as a Research Assistant at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India. During her tenure, she contributed as a Junior Writer for Europe Monitor on the Global Politics website and as an Assistant Editor for The World This Week. Her work has also been published in The Hindu newspaper, showing her expertise in global affairs. Rishika is also a recipient of the Women Empowerment Award at the district level in Haryana, India, in 2022.

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