AFAR TRIANGLE

Its resources, minerals and conditions

 AFAR TRIANGLE

• The Afar triangle (also called the Afar Depression) is a geological depression

 caused by the Afar Triple Junction, which is part of the Great Rift Valley in 
East Africa.
• The region has disclosed fossil specimens of the very earliest hominins; that is,
the earliest of the human clade, and it is thought by some paleontologists to be
the cradle of the evolution of humans; (especially Middle Awash, Hadar).
 NEIGHBOURING

• The Depression overlaps the borders of Eritrea, Djibouti and the entire 

Afar Region of Ethiopia; and it contains the lowest point in Africa, Lake Assal,
Djibouti, at 155 m (or 509 ft) below sea level. The Awash River is the main
waterflow into the region, but it runs dry during the annual dry season, and ends
as a chain of saline lakes.
 LOCATION

• The northern part of the Afar Depression is also known as the Danakil Depression. The
lowlands are affected by heat, drought, and minimal air circulation, and contain the
hottest places (year-round average temperatures) of anywhere on Earth.
• The Afar Triangle is bordered as follows (see the topographic map): on the west by the
Ethiopian Plateau and escarpment; to the north-east (between it and the Red Sea) by the 
Danakil block; to the south by the Somali Plateau and escarpment; and to the south-east
by the Ali-Sabieh block (adjoining the Somali Plateau).
 …

• Many important fossil localities exist in the

Afar region, including the Middle Awash
region and the sites of Hadar, Dikika, and
Woranso-Mille. These sites have produced
specimens of the earliest (fossil) hominins and
of human tool culture, as well as many fossils
of various flora and fauna.
 ENVIRONMENT

• Dallol in the Danakil Depression is one of the hottest places year-round anywhere on
Earth. There is no rain for most of the year; the yearly rainfall averages range from 100
to 200 millimetres (4 to 7 in), with even less rain falling closer to the coast. Daily mean
temperatures at Dallol ranged from 30 °C (86 °F) in January to 39 °C (102 °F) in July in
six years of observations from 1960 to 1966.
 RIVER IN IT..

• The Awash River, flowing north-eastward through the southern part of the Afar Region,
provides a narrow green belt which enables life for the flora and fauna in the area and
for the Afars, the nomadic people living in the Danakil Desert. About 128 kilometres
(80 mi) from the Red Sea the Awash ends in a chain of salt lakes, where its waterflow
evaporates as quickly as it is supplied. Some 1,200 km2 (460 sq mi) of the Afar
Depression is covered by salt deposits, and mining salt is a major source of income for
many Afar groups.
 BIOME

• The Afar Depression biome is characterized as desert scrubland. Vegetation is

mostly confined to drought-resistant plants such as small trees (e.g. species of the 
dragon tree), shrubs, and grasses. Wildlife includes many herbivores such as 
Grevy's zebra, Soemmering's gazelle, beisa and, notably, the last viable population
of African wild ass (Equus africanus somalicus).
• Birds include the ostrich, the endemic Archer's lark (Heteromirafra archeri), the 
secretary bird, Arabian and Kori bustards, Abyssinian roller, and crested francolin.
In the southern part of the plain lies the Mille-Sardo Wildlife Reserve in Ethiopia.
 FOUNDINGS

• In 1994, near the Awash River in Ethiopia, Tim D. White found the then-oldest known
human ancestor: 4.4 million-year-old Ar. ramidus. A fossilized almost complete skeleton
of a female hominin which he named "Ardi", it took nearly 15 years to safely excavate,
preserve, and describe the specimen and to prepare publication of the event.
THANK YOU!