The salt lake at the heart of the Danakil Depression
Lake Asale — also known as Lake Karum — is a vast, hypersaline lake at the heart of the Danakil Depression, lying more than 100 metres below sea level in one of the hottest places on Earth. Its surface is a shimmering crust of salt stretching to the horizon, broken only by trains of camels and by the Afar salt miners who still cut and carry the mineral by hand, much as their ancestors have done for centuries. The lake lies in a landscape where the Earth's crust is actively pulling apart, and its blinding white flats contrast sharply with the dark volcanic hills that rise beyond. A visit to Lake Asale is a journey into one of Africa's most extreme and otherworldly environments.
Lake Asale (Lake Karum) salt flats
Afar salt-mining communities
Camel caravans of the Danakil
Views over the surrounding volcanic hills
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