Volcanic Feature
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Ardoukoba Volcano Rifts
Ardoukoba is a young fissure volcano located on the narrow isthmus between Lake Assal and Ghoubbet-el-Kharab in central Djibouti. Dormant for over 3,000 years, the volcano erupted violently in November 1978 after a series of massive earthquakes tore open a 12-kilometer tectonic rift in the earth crust. The desolate volcanic field is covered in pitch-black lava flows and steaming ground fractures, where Afar pastoralists believe underground elemental fire spirits were unleashed when the rift opened.