Lake Asal is a crater lake in central Djibouti, located at the southern border of the Tadjoura Region. The lowest point on the continent of Africa, it lies 153 m below sea level in the Afar Depression. Lake Asal is the most saline body of water on earth, with 34.8 percent more salt than the Dead Sea The sources of the lake are subsurface springs, which are fed by the Gulf of Tadjoura, the eastern extension of the Gulf of Aden. Lake Assal (French: Lac Assal) is a crater lake in central Djibouti, located at the southern border of Tadjoura Region, touching Dikhil Region, some 120 km (75 mi) west of Djibouti city. It lies 155 m (515 ft) below sea level in the Afar Depression and its shores comprise the lowest point on land in Africa. It measures 19 by 7 km (4.3 mi) and has an area of 54 km2 (21 sq mi). The maximum depth is 40 m (130 ft), whereas the mean depth is 7.4 m (24 ft), which makes for a water volume of 400 million cubic metres (320,000 acre·ft). The catchment area measures 900 km2 (350 sq mi), and there is just a residual runoff of fresh water into the lake. Lake Assal is considered the most saline body of water on earth outside Antarctica, with 34.8% percent salt concentration (up to 40% at 20 m (66 ft) depth), compared to Garabogazköl or the 33.7 percent level in the Dead Sea (often incorrectly considered the world's most saline lake), and an average of 3.5 percent in the world's oceans. Only some hypersaline lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica such as Don Juan Pond have a higher salinity. The sources of the lake are hot springs whose salinity is close to sea water, which are fed by the Gulf of Tadjoura (French: Golfe de Tadjoura), the eastern extension of the Gulf of Aden, specifically the nearly closed-off bay Ghoubet Kharab, about 10 km southeast of the lake. The area is wild and desert-like, and no fauna or flora can be seen in the syrupy waters of the lake. The high temperature of the water (33-34 °C) favors evaporation, and it is surrounded by a salt pan (extending west and mainly northwest). The salt is mined and transported by caravan to Ethiopia. Lake ‘Asal, salt lake located in Djibouti, the lowest point in Africa at 153 m (502 ft) below sea level. Located approximately 70 km (about 40 mi) west of the capital, Djibouti (city), ‘Asal is situated in one of Africa's hottest and driest regions. The lake took shape between 1 million and 4 million years ago, the product of volcanic activity and associated faulting and uplifting of Earth's surface. Studies suggest that in an earlier geologic era, it actually stood about the same elevation above sea level. The area around the lake has continued to be the site of volcanic activity and earth movement. As a saline body of water, ‘Asal has not been the site of large population settlements or extensive economic activity.
Lake Assal is a crater lake in central Djibouti, located at the southern border of Tadjoura Region, touching Dikhil Region, some west of Djibouti city. It lies 155 m (515 ft) below sea level in the Afar Depression and its shores comprise the lowest point on land in Africa. It measures 19 by and has an area of . The maximum depth is , whereas the mean depth is , which makes for a water volume of . The catchment area measures , and there is just a residual runoff of fresh water into the lake. Lake Assal is considered the most saline body of water on earth outside Antarctica, with 34.8% percent salt concentration (up to 40% at depth), compared to Garabogazköl or the 33.7 percent level in the Dead Sea (often incorrectly considered the world's most saline lake), and an average of 3.5 percent in the world's oceans. Only some hypersaline lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica such as Don Juan Pond and perhaps Lake Vanda (with a reported salinity of "10 times the salinity of sea water") have a higher salinity. The sources of the lake are hot springs whose salinity is close to sea water, which are fed by the Gulf of Tadjoura , the eastern extension of the Gulf of Aden, specifically the nearly closed-off bay Ghoubet Kharab, about 10 km southeast of the lake. The area is wild and desert-like, and no fauna or flora can be seen in the syrupy waters of the lake. The high temperature of the water (33-34 °C) favors evaporation, and it is surrounded by a salt pan (extending west and mainly northwest). The salt is mined and transported by caravan to Ethiopia. The lake is located in a greatly dessicated and powerfully hot location, and is surrounded by a number of thermal springs of varying salinity and pools in which the local Djiboutians recreate. It serves as a basis for the tourist trade in the local area; antlered skulls, steeped in the lake water, are popular souveniers, and penetrate the tourist markets in Djibouti city. The lake itself, while highly saline, is not unbearable for a swim or snorkel, though generally visibly unremarkable. One exceptional feature is the piping laid in the lake's shallows: A sequence of metal pipes were laid in the shallows of the lake some years ago (the purpose and provenance of the pipes is unknown to the author), but they bear the rough shape of a tennis court (a bisected rectangle). The pipes are almost indiscernable, due to the complete cover of gypsum crystals obscuring their entire surface, many of the them the length and breadth of a human finger, and covering the pipes in formations resembling spiny urchins, drawn out to great length. While the remainder of the lake's shallows pale in comparison to the Red Sea diving freely accessible from the sea shores, the gypsum crystals in Lac Assal are reminiscent of the world's most prolific cave formations, and are well worth the salty inconvenience of their exploration.
Lake Asal (Lake Assal) is a crater lake in central Djibouti, located at the southern border of Tadjoura Region, touching Dikhil Region. It lies 153 m (502 ft)[citation needed] below sea level in the Afar Depression and is the lowest point in Africa. It measures 10 by 7 km and has an area of 54 km². The mean depth is 7.4 meters, which makes for a water volume of 400 million m³. The catchment area measures 900 km². It is surrounded by a salt pan (extending west and mainly northwest). The salt is mined and transported by caravan to Ethiopia. Lake Asal is the most saline body of water on earth with 34.8 percent salt concentration[1] (at a depth of 20 meters, as much as 39.8 percent has been measured). This is even more than that of the Dead Sea. The sources of the lake are subsurface springs, which are fed by the Gulf of Tadjoura (Golfe de Tadjoura), the eastern extension of the Gulf of Aden, specifically the nearly closed-off bay Ghoubet Kharab, about 10 km southeast of the lake. Lake Karum in the Ethiopian portion of the northern Afar Depression is also sometimes called Lake Assal.Lake Asal (Lake Assal) is a crater lake in central Djibouti, located at the southern border of Tadjoura Region, touching Dikhil Region. It lies 153 m (502 ft) below sea level in the Afar Depression and is the lowest point in Africa. It measures 10 by 7 km and has an area of 54 km². The mean depth is 7.4 meters, which makes for a water volume of 400 million m³. The catchment area measures 900 km². It is surrounded by a salt pan (extending west and mainly northwest), which is still mined, the salt being transported by caravan to Ethiopia. The lake is located in a greatly desiccated and powerfully hot location, and is surrounded by a number of thermal springs of varying salinity and pools in which the local Djiboutians recreate. It serves as a basis for the tourist trade in the local area; antlered skulls, steeped in the lake water, are popular souvenirs, and penetrate the tourist markets in Djibouti city. The lake itself, while highly saline, is not unbearable for a swim or snorkel, though generally visibly unremarkable. One exceptional feature is the piping laid in the lake's shallows: A sequence of metal pipes were laid in the shallows of the lake some years ago (the purpose and provenance of the pipes is unknown to the author), but they bear the rough shape of a tennis court (a bisected rectangle). The pipes are almost indiscernible, due to the complete cover of gypsum crystals obscuring their entire surface, many of the them the length and breadth of a human finger, and covering the pipes in formations resembling spiny urchins, drawn out to great length. While the remainder of the lake's shallows pale in comparison to the Red Sea diving freely accessible from the sea shores, the gypsum crystals in Lac Assal are reminiscent of the world's most prolific cave formations, and are well worth the salty inconvenience of their exploration.
