"Lake Assal" Top 5 Page for this destination Djibouti Off The Beaten Path Tip by traveldave

One of the hottest and most inhospitable places on earth, Lake Assal is a saline crater lake surrounded by dormant volcanoes and black lava fields. It is located in the Afar Depression, and at 502 feet (153 meters) below sea level, it is the lowest point on the African continent.

The source of the lake's water is subsurface springs which are fed by the nearby Gulf of Tadjoura. The average depth of the lake is 24 feet (seven meters), and its area is 21 square miles (54 square kilometers). Lake Assal's waters are the most saline in the world, containing 34.8 percent salt. The lake is surrounded by vast salt flats. The salt is mined, and much of it is exported to nearby Ethiopia. And in Djibouti City, some fish dishes are served with "salt pearls" from Lake Assal.

I did not visit Lake Assal, but stopped to see it and photograph it from an overlook on the Route du Roi Fahd. The lake's blue water and white salt flats shimmered in the extreme heat, distant, ethereal, and forbidden.