September 29, 2008 | 23 comments

Birth of an Ocean: The Evolution of Ethiopia's Afar Depression

Formation of an ocean is a rare event, one few scientists have ever witnessed. Yet this geophysical nativity is unfolding today in one of the hottest and most inhospitable corners of the globe. Visit the site in safety through this extraordinary photographic essay

By Eitan Haddok

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LAKE OF LAVA Birth of an Ocean: The Evolution of Ethiopia's Afar Depression :: Formation of an ocean is

LAKE OF LAVAAtop Erta Ale is one of the earth's few quasi-permanent lava lakes. The flux of heat from the earth's interior is rarely sufficient to keep rock molten under the cooling effect of the atmosphere. Even on Erta Ale the heat sometimes slackens enough so that portions of the lake surface "freeze" into a black crust.

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