Erta Ale is high, with one or sometimes two active
lava lakes at the summit which occasionally overflow on the south side of the volcano. Volcanoes with lava lakes are rare: there were only eight in the world reported in 2019.
Erta Ale means "smoking mountain" in the local
Afar language and its southernmost pit is known locally as "the gateway to hell". In 2009, it was mapped by a team from the
BBC using
three-dimensional laser techniques, in order for the mapping team to maintain a distance and avoid the lakes' searingly hot temperatures. Erta Ale is located in the
Afar triple junction where three tectonic plates split apart: the
African plate, the
Arabian plate and the
Somali plate. Specifically, it lies almost at the end of the southern
Red Sea Rift, where tectonic extension (via
normal faults) proceeds in conjunction with
igneous intrusions to generate a new
oceanic crust between Africa and Arabia. The volcano comprises mainly
mafic lavas which were brought up to the surface by
dike emplacement during a
rifting event. A major eruption occurred on 25 September 2005 which killed 250 heads of livestock and forced thousands of nearby residents to flee. There was further lava flow in August 2007, forcing the evacuation of hundreds and leaving two missing. A new eruption started in November 3, 2008 at the Alu-Dalafilla volcanic centre, at the northern end of the Erta Ale range. The latest eruptive activity started in January 2017, with outpouring of lava flows extending for kilometers from the vent, and lasted until March 2020; volcanic pulses have occurred since that time, lasting until at least April 2024. ET Afar asv2018-01 img99 way to Ertale.jpg|View of Erta Ale from the base camp STS41G-32-14.jpg|Erta Ale volcano (EA) and
Ethiopian Highlands (EH) as seen from space Erta Ale 491.jpg|The lava lake in the
caldera of Erta Ale ET Afar asv2018-01 img103 Ertale.jpg|The lava lake's activity in January 2018 ET Afar asv2018-01 img110 Ertale.jpg|Dry lava field on the top ==Tourism==