Erta Ale Volcano: US Embassy Warns Tourists, When Will It Erupt?

The continuously active Erta Ale volcano in Ethiopia, sometimes called the “gateway to hell,” has a lava lake in the middle of it and the United States Embassy is advising Americans to reconsider travel plans to see the flowing lava.

But the travel advisory and the lava lake in the volcano’s caldera are actually unrelated. The volcano is extremely volatile and can erupt at any time, which has attracted some tourists despite the danger of molten lava and the trek to the lava lake.

A German tourist, who was visiting the volcano along with a guide, was shot and killed earlier this month by an unknown person while traveling in the area of the volcano, BBC News reported. This is actually what prompted the advisory from the State Department, “The Embassy recommends U.S. citizens reconsider travel plans to Erta Ale,” said the statement that was released Wednesday, it also noted that the security environment in Ethiopia can change rapidly.

In addition to the attack on the German tourist, the actual volcano is the cause for the safety concern. The volcano has had seven eruption events in the last 125 years and had been erupting continuously since 1967, according to Oregon State University.

NASA has also been tracking the activity of the volcano. New fissures on the volcano opened up in January that results in the volcano spilling out lava, this ended up reshaping the volcano’s summit, making the terrain less predictable for hikers.

NASA’s Earth Observing 1 spacecraft captured photos of the eruption and the changing landscape. Another satellite had captured the eruption and the artificial intelligence on the satellites allowed for the first one to alert the EO1 to capture images of the eruption, according to NASA. The craft was able to capture the photo below.

The volcano has active lava in its caldera and is continuously active, so it's possible that it could have a large eruption at any time. The volcano has an "erupting" status on the website Volcano Discovery.