Dallol (ghost town)

Dallol (Amharic: ዳሎል) is a locality in the Dallol woreda of northern Ethiopia. Located in Kilbet Rasu, Afar Region in the Afar Depression, it has a latitude and longitude of 14°14′19″N 40°17′38″E with an elevation of about 130 metres (430 ft) below sea level. The Central Statistical Agency has not published an estimate for the 2005 population of the village, which has been described as a ghost town. Dallol currently holds the official record for record high average temperature for an inhabited location on Earth, and an average annual temperature of 35 °C (95 °F) was recorded between 1960 and 1966. Dallol is also one of the most remote places on Earth, but paved roads in the area were built in 2015. Still, the most important mode of transport besides off-road vehicles are the camel caravans that travel to the area to collect salt. In the region is the highly active hydrothermal system of Dallol, with numerous springs, terrace systems and fumaroles.