The Hottest Inhabited Place On Earth [PHOTOS]
REUTERS/Siegfried Modola The Danakil Depression, located in Ethiopia's Danakil Desert, has been called the hottest inhabited place on the planet and dubbed "The Cruelest Place on Earth" by National Geographic.
The depression is about 328 feet below sea level, and features a lot of red rock, sulfur fields, and salt deposits.
Geologists believe that the salt was deposited gradually over time, as the nearby Red Sea periodically flooded into the region. The extreme heat in the desert vaporized the floodwaters, leaving only the salt behind.
In the Danakil, salt means money. The entire local economy depends on mining and trading the mineral.
Miners use traditional methods — camel caravans, pickaxes, and rope — to cut, pack, and ferry the salt out of the harsh basin.
It can be dangerous work, though. The heat can kill unprepared workers, and the occasional earthquake can split the ground and swallow camels.