Danakil Depression: It may look like another planet, but the Danakil Desert is in Ethiopia, with parts in Eritrea and Djibouti.
Often called the hottest place on Earth: It's one of the hottest and most inhospitable places in the world, with volcanoes, lava lakes.
Tough on the body: The sun scorches the earth, sometimes at over 60°C (140°F), as the dry air sucks the moisture from your lips.
The Afar people call it home: Though it may seem like an impossible place to live, it is inhabited by people who mine the landscape for its abundant salt.
Hottest by average annual temperature: The harsh environment has an average annual temperature of 34.4°C (94°F).
Dry and low: Reaching 410 ft (125 m) below sea level, it's one of the lowest places on the planet as well, and it only receives 100 to 200 mm of rainfall per year.
The colors signify something important: Its dazzling multicolored hydrothermal fields are a result of a combination of mud, iron, halophile algae, and, most importantly, salt.
Salt is its greatest value: For centuries, merchants have traveled into the depression.
It's an age-old practice: Caravans set out into the Danakil Depression to find salt, extract it, pack it, and bring it back to town.
Finding the salt pan: Caravans of camels are taken out to the salt pan.