This is a list of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Eritrea .
Contents
| Group | Formation | Period | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Series Group | Danakil Formation | Pleistocene | [1] |
| Dogali Formation | Oligocene | [2] | |
| Antalo Limestone | Callovian-Tithonian | [3] | |
This is a list of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Eritrea .
| Group | Formation | Period | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Series Group | Danakil Formation | Pleistocene | [1] |
| Dogali Formation | Oligocene | [2] | |
| Antalo Limestone | Callovian-Tithonian | [3] | |
Ethiopia is located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. Ethiopia has a high central plateau, the Abyssinian Highlands that varies from 1,290 to 3,000 m above sea level, with some 25 mountains whose peaks rise over 4,000 meters (13,200ft), the highest being Ras Dashen at 4,543 meters (14,538ft).
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. The Depression overlaps the borders of Eritrea, Djibouti and the entire Afar Region of Ethiopia; and it contains the lowest point in Africa, Lake Assal, Djibouti, at 155 m (509 ft) below sea level.
The Danakil Desert is a desert in northeast Ethiopia, southern Eritrea, and northwestern Djibouti. Situated in the Afar Triangle, it stretches across 136,956 square kilometres (52,879 sq mi) of arid terrain. It is inhabited by a few Afar, who engage in salt mining. The area is known for its volcanoes and extreme heat, with daytime temperatures surpassing 50 °C (122 °F). Less than 25 mm (1 in) of rainfall occurs each year. The Danakil Desert is one of the lowest and hottest places on Earth.
The Afar, also known as the Danakil, Adali and Odali, are a Cushitic ethnic group inhabiting the Horn of Africa. They primarily live in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and in northern Djibouti, as well as the entire southern coast of Eritrea. The Afar speak the Afar language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family. Afars are the only inhabitants of the Horn of Africa whose traditional territories border both the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Lake Afrera is a hypersaline lake in northern Ethiopia. Located in Kilbet Rasu, 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.
Erta Ale is a continuously active basaltic shield volcano in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia, which is itself part of the wider Afar Triangle. The volcano is located in the Danakil Depression, an area on the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea that is below sea level. It is the most active of the volcanoes in Ethiopia.
The Danakil Depression is the northern part of the Afar Triangle or Afar Depression in Ethiopia and Eritrea, a geological depression that has resulted from the divergence of three tectonic plates in the Horn of Africa. It is the third lowest lying location on the continent of Africa.
The Dachstein Formation or Dachstein Limestone is a geologic formation in the Alps and other Tethyan mountain ranges in Austria, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Switzerland, Slovakia and Slovenia. It preserves fossils dated to the Norian and Rhaetian stages of the Late Triassic period.
The Danakil Alps are a highland region in Ethiopia and Eritrea with peaks over 1000 metres in height and a width varying between 40 and 70 kilometres. The area is known in the Afar language as Arrata. The alps lie along the southern Red Sea to the east of the Danakil Depression and separate it from the sea. The alps are asymmetric in cross-section with a comparatively gentle rift escarpment facing the Red Sea and intense normal faulting on the inland side.
The Antalo Limestone, also known as the Antalo Sequence, is a geological formation in Ethiopia. It is between 300 and 800 metres thick and comprises fossiliferous limestones and marls that were deposited in a reef. Marine microfossils have shown an age between 165 and 150 million years.
Fossiliferous stratigraphic units of the countries and dependencies of Africa | ||
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| Sovereign states |
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