article_snippet: If we must imagine the fiery depths of hell, the mental image can't be far from these incredible images by Czech photographer Karel Tupy of Ethiopia's Erta Ale, the world's oldest continuously active lava lake.
article_snippet: Mental images of the fiery depths of hell can't be far from these very real photographs of Ethiopia's Erta Ale .
article_snippet: Found in the badland desert area of the Afar Depression in north-eastern Ethiopia, Erta Ale's famed lava lake formed around 1906 and is one of six in the world.
article_snippet: The volcano's name translates in the local Afar tribe's language as 'smoking mountain' while the pit to smoking mountain south is known by locals as 'The Gateway to Hell', an appropriate moniker given the luminous lava spitting lava and searing heat.
article_snippet: Erta Ale's name translates as 'smoking mountain' in the local Afar language while the pit to its south its south is called 'The Gateway to Hell' While locals aren't particularly welcoming to outsiders and the surrounding terrain is far from hospitable, tourists do make the journey to witness the natural phenomenon.
highlights_snippet: Czech photographer Karel Tupy visited Ethiopia's Erta Ale, the world's oldest continuously active lava lake .
  
highlights_snippet: Erta Ale means 'smoking mountain' in the local Afar language while the pit to the local Afar language south is 'The Gateway to Hell'
  