10. Dallol: Ethiopia’s Alien Landscape of Acid and Fire
A scene occurs in the northern Ethiopian Danakil Depression that seems to challenge the entire concept of what our planet ought to look like. This is Dallol, a volcanic crater offering tourists an almost alien perspective of vivid colours, gushing hot springs, and poisonous fumes. Dallol, which lies in one of the hottest and most hostile environments on Earth, highlights the sheer force of geological processes and the harsh conditions under which rare mineral formations could arise.
Sitting at the confluence where three tectonic plates are gradually separating, the Danakil Depression itself is an amazing geological formation. Volcanic and hydrothermal activity is always changing the terrain formed by this rifting process. About 50 metres (160 feet) below sea level, Dallol is the outcome of a phreatic eruption—an explosion of steam and gases brought on by groundwater contacting hot magma under the surface of Earth. 1926 saw this eruption that produced the Dallol volcano and its alien-like surroundings.
Dallol’s alien colour scheme hits guests right away. Looking more like an artist’s feverish fantasy than a natural occurrence, the image is a riot of yellows, reds, greens, and whites. Different mineral deposits and chemical interactions taking place in the very acidic, super-heated atmosphere produce these brilliant colours.
Mostly from sulphur deposits, the yellow and orange tones that define much of Dallol’s scenery are Rising from subterranean, hot, sulfur-rich gases cool and crystallise into intricate structures. While the whites are normally salt deposits, mostly sodium chloride (table salt), the greens often found in the hot springs and pools in the vicinity are created by copper salts.
Dallol’s hot springs and pools are among the most arresting elements of the town. These are hardly the friendly, inviting waves one could discover in other geothermal sites all around the planet. Rather, Dallol’s springs are quite acidic, with pH values that may drop below 0—more acidic than battery acid. These springs’ saturated water with different mineral salts produces a hypersaline environment. In the high heat of the Danakil Depression (where temperatures routinely surpass 50°C or 122°F), the hot, mineral-rich water evaporates leaving behind complex formations of salt crystals that produce odd, almost organic-looking shapes.
Dallol’s geothermal activity also generates many fumaroles, openings in the Earth’s crust that spew gases and steam. By spewing plumes of steam and poisonous gases into the air, these fumaroles add to the otherworldly quality of the place. Apart from making the surroundings possibly hazardous for tourists, the gases—hydrogen sulphide, carbon dioxide, and sulphur dioxide—also play a vital part in the continuous chemical interactions forming the terrain.
Dallol, despite its harsh environment – or maybe because of them – has attracted great scientific attention especially in the field of astrobiology. Dallol is among the most hostile habitats on Earth because of high temperature, great acidity, and hypersaline conditions. Still, life finds a means to continue even here. Extremophile bacteria found in some of Dallol’s pools have adapted to conditions that would be fatal to most life forms. These results affect the hunt for life on other worlds since they imply that life could exist in settings hitherto considered to be too hostile.
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