Danakil

We had to give up on our GPS instruments in Danakil.

The road skirted the western edge of the Danakil Depression, a vast area that sits below sea level with an active volcano, the saltiest lake on earth, and surreal rock formations in vivid colors that are frequently likened to an otherworldly landscape.

Tourists sometimes pass through Tigray’s eastern tip en route to visit the nearby Danakil Depression, which many geologists and meteorologists regard as both the lowest and hottest place on earth, reaching 410 feet below sea level and with recorded temperatures as high as 125 degrees.

Ethiopia’s Afar region is mostly inhabited by nomadic herders and is home to the Danakil Depression, a popular tourist area that has been called the hottest place on Earth.

Attempting to ascertain life’s outer limits, scientists headed to Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression.