Dallol (Amharic: ዳሎል) is a locality in the Dallol woreda of northern Ethiopia. Located in Administrative Zone 2 of the 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 this settlement's 2005 population; it has been described as a ghost town. Dallol currently holds the official record for record high average temperature for an inhabited location on Earth, where an average annual temperature of 35°C (95°F) was recorded between the years 1960 and 1966. Dallol is also one of the most remote places on Earth, although paved roads to the village of Hamedela, which is close, are being built. Still, the most important mode of transport besides jeeps are the camel caravans which travel to the area to collect salt.
In this region lies the highly active hydrothermal system of Dallol that hosts numerous springs, terrace systems and fumaroles.
History
A railway from the port of Mersa Fatma in Eritrea to a point 28 km from Dallol was completed in April 1918. Built from 1917-1918, using the 600 mm gauge Decauville system ("Decauville" describes ready-made sections of small-gauge track which can be rapidly assembled) it transported salt from the "Iron Point" rail terminal near Dallol, via Kululli to the port.[1]
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