The Great Rift Valley is a series of contiguous geographic trenches, approximately 6,000 kilometres (3,700 mi) in total length, that runs from the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon in Asia to Mozambique in Southeast Africa. While the name continues in some usages, it is rarely used in geology as it is considered an imprecise merging of separate though related rift and fault systems.
The Afar Triangle is a geological depression caused by the Afar Triple Junction, which is part of the Great Rift Valley in East Africa. The region has disclosed fossil specimens of the very earliest hominins, that is, the earliest of the human clade; and it is thought by some paleontologists to be the cradle of the evolution of humans, see Middle Awash, Hadar. The Depression overlaps the borders of Eritrea, Djibouti and the entire Afar Region of Ethiopia; and it contains the lowest point in Africa, Lake Asal, Djibouti, at 155 m below sea level.
Awash National Park is one of the national parks of Ethiopia. Spanning across the southern tip of the Afar Region and the northeastern corner of the Misraq Shewa Zone of Oromia, this park is 225 kilometers east of Addis Ababa, with its southern boundary along the Awash River, and covers 756 square kilometers of acacia woodland and grassland. The Addis Ababa - Dire Dawa highway passes through this park, separating the Illala Saha Plains to the south from the Kudu Valley to the north. In the south of the park the Awash River gorge has amazing waterfalls. In the upper Kudu Valley at Filwoha are hot springs amid groves of palm trees.
Yangudi Rassa National Park is one of the National Parks of Ethiopia. Located in the Afar Region, its 4730 square kilometers of territory include Mount Yangudi near the southern border and the surrounding Rassa Plains, with altitudes from 400 to 1459 meters above sea level. Sandy semi-desert and wooded grassland cover the majority of the park's area. This park lies between the territory of the Afars and the Issas, and while violence have been frequent between them, most of the park is in an area where they avoid each other. As a result, most of the active protection of the park is focused on managing their conflict.
The Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front is an Afar political party in Ethiopia that was founded in 1993 and is currently part of the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) coalition opposition party.
Hayli Gubbi is a shield volcano located in the Afar Region of Ethiopia. It is the southernmost volcano of the Erta Ale Range.
Erta Ale Range is the most important axial volcanic chain of the Afar Depression, Afar Region, Ethiopia. It consists mostly of shield volcanoes. The active volcano Erta Ale is a prominent feature of the range. The highest volcano of the range is Ale Bagu, with an elevation of 988 m (3,241 ft) above sea level.
Fentale is a stratovolcano located in the Oromia Region, Ethiopia. It is the highest point of Fentale woreda.
Gada Ale is a stratovolcano located in the Afar Region, Ethiopia. It is the most prominent volcano at the northern end of the Erta Ale Range.
Lake Afrera is a hypersaline lake in northern Ethiopia. Located in Administrative Zone 2 of the Afar Region, it is one of the lakes of the Danakil Depression. According to its entry in Lakenet, it has a surface area of 100 km2 (39 sq mi), although another source states the area is 125 km2 (48 sq mi). An unconfirmed report gives its depth as 160 m (525 ft); the lake is fed by underground streams.
Dallol is a cinder cone volcano in the Danakil Depression, northeast of the Erta Ale Range in Ethiopia. It has been formed by the intrusion of basaltic magma into Miocene salt deposits and subsequent hydrothermal activity. Phreatic eruptions took place here in 1926, forming Dallol Volcano; numerous other eruption craters dot the salt flats nearby. These craters are the lowest known subaerial volcanic vents in the world, at 45 m (150 ft) or more below sea level. In October 2004 the shallow magma chamber beneath Dallol deflated and fed a magma intrusion southwards beneath the rift. A phreatic eruption occurred in January 2011.
Samara or Samara is a new town on the Awash–Asseb highway in north-east Ethiopia, planned to replace Asaita as the capital of the Afar Region. Located in the Administrative Zone 1, Semera has a latitude and longitude of 11°47′32″N41°0′31″E. One of the completed buildings is Samara University Health science College, which began holding classes in 2007.
Elidar is a town in north-eastern Ethiopia. Located in Administrative Zone 1 of the Afar Region, in the angle formed by the border with Djibouti to the south, and Eritrea to the northeast. It has a latitude and longitude of 12°3′N41°55′E with an elevation of 418 meters above sea level. Elidar is named for the salt pan that occupies the eastern end of Elidar woreda.
Gewane is a town in north-eastern Ethiopia. Located in Administrative Zone 3 of the Afar Region, it has an elevation of 618 meters above sea level. Gewane is locally known as New Gewane, 2 kilometers east of the original settlement known as Old Gewane; the town was relocated astride the main, all-weather highway. It is the administrative center of Gewane woreda.
Erta Ale is a continuously active basaltic shield volcano in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia. It is situated in the Afar Depression, a badland desert area. Erta Ale is the most active volcano in Ethiopia.
Berhale is a town in north-eastern Ethiopia. Located in the Administrative Zone 2 of the Afar Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of 13°51′N40°01′E with an altitude of 639 meters above sea level. It is the largest town in Berhale woreda.
Dabbahu Volcano is an active volcano located in the remote Afar Region of Ethiopia. This stratovolcano is part of the Afar Triangle, a highly active volcanic region which includes Erta Ale. An eruption on September 26, 2005 created a large fissure in the ground, known as the Dabbahu fissure.
Mount Alayta is a shield volcano in the Afar Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Afar Triangle, a highly active volcanic region which includes the adjacent Mount Afdera, this volcano covers an area of 2700 square kilometers southwest of Lake Afrera. A chain of younger craters are aligned along a north-northwest axis in the basaltic-to-trachytic shield along the east side of the shield volcano, which extends to the western flank of Mount Afdera. The Alayta Lavafeld covered by fresh lava streams was formed from a series of north-south fissures. In two areas on the southern side of the volcanic complex, fumaroles can be observed.
The 2012 Afar region tourist attack was a shooting incident on the night of 17 January 2012 at Erta Ale volcano in the Afar Region of Ethiopia which killed 5 and injured 3. Four people were kidnapped in the attack.
