Aerial View of Danakil Depression

April 06, 2016

JoelSantos_Ethiopia_Danakil_20160310_05471

Photographer: Joel Santos
Summary Author: Joel Santos

April 2016 Viewer's ChoiceShown above is an aerial photograph of the Danakil Depression region of Ethiopia showing patterns of harvested salt (top and bottom) and a caravan of miners and dromedaries (center) on their way to the salt extraction sites. At these sites chunks of salt are cut like bricks and then loaded on the camels. Note their shadows (traveling north) in the low Sun on the trail at right-center.

The ‪‎Danakil‬ Depression, also known as the Afar Depression, is located below sea level. Salt deposits here result from the Red Sea periodically flooding the depression and then evaporating. However, the most recent such flood occurred roughly 30,000 years ago. Click here to see the impressive, aerial video footage from this region. Photo taken on March 8, 2016.

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