Lake Afrera, Ethiopia

Lake Afrera is a hypersaline lake located in the Danakil Depression in northern Ethiopia. Rock salt has been mined at the lake for centuries. More recently, some companies used to produce salt by pumping brine into artificial ponds for evaporation and subsequent precipitation. Following the 2011 eruption of nearby Nabro volcano, the lake is contaminated with sulfuric acid, making the salt inedible. The single island in the lake, Franchetti Island, is considered the lowest-lying island in the world. The image covers an area of 20 by 33 km, was acquired April 25, 2014, and is located at 13.3 degrees north, 40.9 degrees east.

Image credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

The Horn of Africa

This Envisat image of the Horn of Africa shows parts of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and, to the northeast across the Red Sea, a portion of Yemen’s west coast. The lighter-colored area to the east is known as the Afar Triangle and includes the Danakil Desert. Further west we can see the somewhat heart-shaped Lake Tana. With a surface area of over 2000 sq km, the average depth is only 14 m owing to high levels of sediment. This image was acquired on 13 November 2011 by the MERIS instrument on ESA’s Envisat satellite.

Photo credit: ESA