Thus it is a favorable area in which to investigate different geophysical phenomena conccretely that attract earth scientists. The Geophysical Observatory of Arta, located 35 km west of the capital djibouti, was established in 1976. Today the seismic monitoring network consist in 16 stations installed around the country.
All seismic data are radio telemetered to the observatory.
The PC-base recording system is triggered when seismic vents are detected by at least 3 stations. Areal time analogical control is supplied on paper at the observatoty for the 8 most significant stations. During 1999 we recording 6133 earthquakes of which 3254 located and also 9 earthquakes with a magnitude up to 4. In case of seismic crisis, the observatory informs the national authorities , the IPGP and estimates the hasards which may occur. Locate plate tectonic boundaries.