Erta Ale - wikipedia Erta Ale Erta Ale Erta Ale in May 2008 Highest point Elevation 613 m ( 2,011 ft ) Listing List of volcanoes in Ethiopia Coordinates 13 ° 36 ′ N 40 ° 40 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 13.600 ° N 40.667 ° E ﻿ / 13.600 ; 40.667 Coordinates : 13 ° 36 ′ N 40 ° 40 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 13.600 ° N 40.667 ° E ﻿ / 13.600 ; 40.667 Geography Erta Ale Afar Depression, Afar Region, Ethiopia Parent range Erta Ale Range Geology Mountain type Shield volcano Last eruption 1967 to present Erta Ale ( or Ertale or Irta'ale ) is a continuously active basaltic shield volcano in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia. It is situated in the Afar Depression, a badland desert area. Erta Ale is the most active volcano in Ethiopia. Contents 1 Geology 2 Travel to Erta Ale 3 In popular culture 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Geology The lava lake in the caldera of Erta Ale. Erta Ale is 613 metres ( 2,011 ft ) high, with one or sometimes two active lava lakes at the summit which occasionally overflow on the south side of the volcano. It is notable for holding the longest - existing lava lake, present since the early years of the twentieth century ( 1906 ). Volcanoes with lava lakes are very rare : there are only six in the world. 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 Erta Ale is centered over the East African Rift system, which is a triple junction setting whose movements are resulting in the formation of a pull - apart basin or rift. The volcano comprises mainly Mafic material which has been brought up to the surface caused by unroofing of the mantle due to this rift formation. Erta Ale volcano ( EA ) and Ethiopian Highlands ( EH ) as seen from space There was a major eruption on 25 September 2005 which killed 250 head 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. An eruption on 4 November 2008 was reported by scientists at Addis Ababa University. Another eruption was reported in January 2017. Travel to Erta Ale Not much is known about Erta Ale and the surrounding terrain is some of the most inhospitable on Earth making travel difficult and dangerous. The Afar region also experiences intermittent ethnic violence due to unification struggles by the native Afar people. On January 16, 2012, a group of European tourists was attacked at Erta Ale. Five tourists were killed, two taken as hostages and seven others wounded. The Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front ( ARDUF ) claimed responsibility for the attack and released the two kidnapped tourists in March 2012. One travel guide recommends hiring `` one or maybe two armed guards or police '' as guides to visit Erta Ale. Commercial tour companies offer tours to Erta Ale which are generally accompanied by military escort. In December 2017, a German tourist was fatally shot while descending Erta Ale. In popular culture The lava lake on Erta Ale was shown briefly during the 2010 movie Clash of the Titans during the journey sequence where Perseus travels to the underworld. See also Erta Ale Range Geography of Ethiopia List of volcanoes in Ethiopia References ^ Jump up to : `` Erta Ale, Ethiopia ''. Volcano World. Oregon State University. Retrieved 2007 - 08 - 08. ^ Jump up to : `` Erta Ale ''. Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2009 - 02 - 22. Jump up ^ `` Episode 1 : The Horn of Africa ''. On the Volcanoes of the World. The Science Channel. Retrieved 24 December 2010. Jump up ^ Hottest Place On Earth, Episode 2 at bbc.co.uk Jump up ^ `` Focus on Ethiopia, September 2005 '', UN-OCHA. Retrieved 25 February 2009. Jump up ^ `` Fears after volcano in Ethiopia ''. BBC News. 2007 - 08 - 15. Retrieved 2007 - 08 - 15. Jump up ^ there was also one in 2009. `` Volcano erupts in Ertale volcanic area of Afar Region '', Ethiopian News Agency website. Retrieved 20 January 2010. Jump up ^ `` New flank eruption at Erta Ale volcano, Ethiopia ''. The Watchers - Daily news service Watchers. NEWS. Retrieved 2017 - 05 - 14. Jump up ^ `` Deadly attack on tourists at Erta Ale - further details : 5 dead, 4 abducted and 7 wounded ''. VolcanoDiscovery. 18 January 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2013. Jump up ^ `` Erta Ale January ( sic ) 17 kidnapping -- ARDUF claims responsability ( sic ), hostages said to be well ''. VolcanoDiscovery. 20 February 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2013. Jump up ^ `` Kidnapped German tourists released ( Erta Ale, Danakil, Ethiopia incident 17 Jan 2012 ) ''. VolcanoDiscovery. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2013. Jump up ^ Briggs, Philip ; Blatt, Brian ( 2009 ). Ethiopia : the Bradt Travel Guide ( Fifth ed. ). Chalfont St Peter : Bradt Travel Guides. p. 313. ISBN 978 - 1 - 84162 - 284 - 2. Jump up ^ Berhane, Daniel ( 2017 - 12 - 05 ). `` An armed group from Eritrea kills a German in Erta Ale, Ethiopia ''. Horn Affairs. Retrieved 2017 - 12 - 07. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Erta Ale. Photos from an expedition in Nov and Dec 2009 Photos from an expedition to Erta Ale and the Danakil in Feb. 2008 ( in French ) Photos of Erta Ale : Expedition Nov 2006 BBC article about Erta Ale Photographs of Erta Ale, February 2015 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Erta_Ale&oldid=814150051 '' Categories : Active volcanoes Volcanoes of the Great Rift Valley Shield volcanoes of Ethiopia Afar Region Calderas of Africa Polygenetic shield volcanoes Mountains of Ethiopia Hidden categories : Coordinates on Wikidata All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from April 2012 Articles with French - language external links Talk Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca Cebuano Čeština Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Français 한국어 हिन्दी Hrvatski Italiano עברית Lietuvių Magyar Македонски Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Occitan Polski Română Русский Slovenčina Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska ไทย Türkçe Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 7 December 2017, at 04 : 07. 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Question: when was the last time the erta ale volcano erupted
Answer: January 2017