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Erta Ale volcano (Ethiopia): overflowing lava lake 16-19 Jan 2017
Paul Reichert who took part in one of our latest Volcano Specials in January 2017 was lucky to witness one of Erta Ale volcano's most spectacular and intense eruptive phases in decades.
A surge of magma from depth (probably a small rifting episode) caused the lava lake in the southern pit crater of the caldera to overflow, build up a broad shield, before it collapsed, following the draining of the lake through a system of flank fissures 2-4 km downhill from 21 Jan - a mere day after Paul and his group had left.
The following is a selection of pictures of Paul, in approximate chronological order and annotated using the valuable field reports by Richard and our geologist expedition leader Enku who, along with Paul, were lucky enough to see this once-in-a-lifetime event. A big thank you goes to all of the three for sharing their information and images!
Watch the videos: 16 Jan | 17 Jan | 18-19 Jan
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