MOONLAND
2023 - 2024
The East African Danakil Depression formed from the continental drift of the African and Asian tectonic plates. As the plates drifted apart at a rate of 1-2 cm per year, they leave behind a geological depression, a Moon like landscape, known as the Danakil Depression.
The Danakil Depression sits at the triple junction between three tectonic plates. This Moonland Depression spans Djibouti, Eritrea, and the region of Ethiopia. The Danakil Depression, which sits more than 100m below sea level and contains some of the world’s most extraterrestrial landscapes. Beyond its fascinating geology, the Danakil holds the keys to some of biology’s most profound questions. In 1974, researchers found the remains of ‘Lucy’ in the Danakil Depression, an early ancestor of modern humans dating back 3.2 million years (now on display at the National Museum in Addis Ababa). The acidic springs of the Dallol Crater have attracted scientists in the search for extremophile microbes as they seek to understand the origins of life on Earth.
(source: Brilliant Ethiopia)
Model: Hazel Ashanti
Landscape images: taken during a visit to this region to enhance this project Moonland