Skip to content
musical notes - earth.fm
An Active Volcano - nature landscape painting - earth.fm

An Active Volcano

Artist: George Vlad
Erta Ale, Ethiopia
Recommended charity: Tree Aid
Notes:

Boiling lava, gases escaping, mini earthquakes and lava bombs create a surreal soundscape inside the volcanic caldera at Erta Ale in Northern Ethiopia. I’m sitting on the edge of the crater, trying to avoid stepping over big cracks and on to overhangs that might drop into the 600m/2000 feet chasm below. At the bottom there is a lava lake that occasionally spews volcanic bombs and boiling rock. The magma can barely be seen through the thick volcanic gases though. The mixture of smoke, dust, sulphur, chlorine, brine steam, silica particles, poisonous gases and many other compounds is thick and suffocating. Reaching what’s known locally as “the gateway to Hell” isn’t for the faint of heart though. This is considered the hottest place on Earth for year-round temperatures. The trip through Amhara, Tigray and Afar regions takes several days. We travel through barren landscapes, acidic deserts below sea level, thick salt plates that support the weight of vehicles and endless lava fields.

Earth.fm is a completely free streaming service of 700+ nature sounds from around the world, offering natural soundscapes and guided meditations for people who wish to listen to nature, relax, and become more connected.

Check out our recordings of nature ambience from sound recordists and artists spanning the globe, our thematic playlists of immersive soundscapes and our Wind Is the Original Radio podcast.

You can join the earth.fm family by signing up for our newsletter of weekly inspiration for your precious ears, or become a member and not only enjoy extra earth.fm features and goodies but help us grow new forests on our beloved planet.

Share with your friends

Discover more sounds from this area

Also recorded by this artist

View all

In the same mood

View all