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For centuries merchants have travelled to Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression, one of the hottest and harshest environments on earth, to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin.
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Sulphur and mineral salt formations are seen near Dallol in the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is one of the hottest and harshest environments on earth, with an average annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34.4 Celsius). For centuries, merchants have travelled there with caravans of camels to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. The mineral is extracted and shaped into slabs, then loaded onto the animals before being transported back across the desert so that it can be sold around the country. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
A man walks on sulphur and mineral salt formations near Dallol in the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
A general view shows the town of Berahile in Afar, northern Ethiopia April 23, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
Salt merchants, and their pack animals, rest for the night in a canyon, during their journey to extract salt from the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 20, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
Salt merchants pose for a photograph as they rest for the night in a canyon, during their journey to extract salt from the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 20, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
Residents of Hamad-Ile pump water from a well in the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 21, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
At dawn, a camel caravan starts its journey to the Danakil Depression in northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
Men walk with their camels through the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
An armed Afar man crosses a river near the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 20, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
A man walks with his camels through the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
A worker extracts salt from the desert in the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
A worker extracts salt from the desert in the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
A worker extracts salt from the desert in the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
A worker ties together slabs of salt extracted from the Danakil Depression in northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
A camel herder and salt merchant holds rope in the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 20, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
Camels eat dried grass in northern Ethiopia April 21, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
A worker loads a camel with slabs of salt in the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
A camel caravan carrying slabs of salt travels away from the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
A camel caravan carrying slabs of salt travels away from the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
Abdu Ibrahim Mohammed, a retired salt merchant, poses for a photograph close to his home in the town of Berahile in Afar, northern Ethiopia April 20, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
Workers unload slabs of salt from camels in the town of Berahile in Afar, northern Ethiopia April 19, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
Workers unload slabs of salt from camels in the town of Berahile in Afar, northern Ethiopia April 19, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
A man lifts slabs of salt onto a truck in the town of Berahile in Afar, northern Ethiopia April 19, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
Members of the Berahile Salt Association pay a merchant after purchasing salt in the town of Berahile in Afar, northern Ethiopia April 19, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
Slabs of salt are seen stacked in the Berahile Salt Association warehouse in the town of Barahile in Afar, northern Ethiopia April 19, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
A man prepares bars of salt to be sold in the main market of the city of Mekele, northern Ethiopia April 24, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol
Men prepare bars of salt to be sold in a shop in the main market of the city of Mekele, northern Ethiopia April 24, 2013. REUTERS-Siegfried Modol