Featured Image

Semien Mountains, Gonder, northern Ethiopia are featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 16 crewmember on the International Space Station. The Semien Mountains, the highest parts of the Ethiopian Plateau (above 2,000 meters--6,560 feet), are surrounded by a steep, ragged escarpment (step) with dramatic vertical cliffs, pinnacles, and rock spires - scenery that draws international tourists. Included in the range is the highest point in Ethiopia, Ras Dashen at 4,533 meters (14,926 feet) - an altitude only recently computed with any accuracy. The plateau and surrounding areas are made up of numerous flood basalts, totaling probably more than 3,000 meters in thickness. According to scientists, the lavas erupted quickly (in about one million years) 31 million years ago, as Ethiopia passed above what is known as the Afar "hotspot." The hotspot caused the general region of Ethiopia to be elevated, which encouraged extensive river erosion. This erosion has cut the highly dramatic canyons that ring the plateau.