Tour around Africa: Stage 50 - Axum (HAAX) to Semera
(HASM)
MS Flight Simulator VFR Flight Plan Previous stage -
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At the bottom of this page you will find the download link
of this Flight Plan (.PLN file)
In this VFR - GPS Flight Plan we take off from
the airport of Axum (HAAX) [Ethiopia], fly to the east, overfly the
Karum and Afrera lakes and finally land in the airport of Semera (HASM)
[Ethiopia]
Find below a short extract and screenshots of the main points of the
route. In this journey around Africa I have used the Cessna 172S
(Skyhawk)
Take off from the runway 34 of the airport of Axum.
Axum Airport (IATA: AXU, ICAO: HAAX), also known as Emperor Yohannes IV
Airport, is an airport serving Axum, a city in the northern Tigray Region of
Ethiopia. The name of the city and airport may also be transliterated as
Aksum. The facility is located 5.5 km (3.4 miles) to the east of the city.
The airport is named after Yohannes IV, the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1872
to 1889.
The airport was heavily damaged by Tigray People's Liberation Front
forces during the Tigray conflict in November 2020.
Axum Airport resides at an elevation of 2,108 metres (6,916 ft) above
mean sea level. It has one runway designated 16/34, with an asphalt concrete
surface measuring 2,400 by 45 metres (7,874 ft × 148 ft).[1] It is capable
of receiving very large aircraft, such as the Antonov 124, which brought the
Axum Obelisk back from Italy in 2005. (*1)
After turning right we say goodbye to Axum flying towards
the lakes.
Overflying Adigrat.
Adigrat (also called Addi Grat) is a city and separate woreda in Tigray
Region of Ethiopia. It is located in the Misraqawi Zone at longitude and
latitude 14°16′N 39°27′ECoordinates: 14°16′N 39°27′E, with an elevation of
2,457 metres (8,061 ft) above sea level and below a high ridge to the west.
Adigrat is a strategically important gateway to Eritrea and the Red Sea.
Adigrat was part of Ganta Afeshum woreda before a separate woreda was
created for the city. Currently, Adigrat serves as the capital of the
Eastern Tigray zone.
Adigrat is one of the most important cities of Tigray, which evolved from
earlier political centers and camps of regional governors. Antalo, Aläqot
and Adigrat were a few of them. The decline of Antalo was followed by the
rise of Adigrat as another prominent, yet short-lived, capital of Tigray.
It used to serve as the capital of Agame. (*1)
Dallol is a unique, terrestrial hydrothermal system around a cinder cone
volcano in the Danakil Depression, northeast of the Erta Ale Range in
Ethiopia. It is known for its unearthly colors and mineral patterns, and
the very acidic fluids that discharge from its hydrothermal springs.
Dallol mountain has an area of about 3 by 1.5 km (1.9 by 0.9 mi), and rises
about 60 m (196.9 ft) above the surrounding salt plains. A circular depression
near the centre is probably a collapsed crater. The southwestern slopes have
water-eroded salt canyons, pillars, and blocks. There are numerous saline
springs and fields of small fumaroles.
Numerous hot springs discharge brine and acidic liquid here. Small,
widespread, temporary geysers produce cones of salt. The Dallol deposits include
significant bodies of potash found directly at the surface. The yellow, ochre
and brown colourings are the result of the presence of iron and other
impurities. Older, inactive springs tend to be dark brown because of oxidation
processes. (*1)
Landscape at Dallol volcano
By A.Savin
Colorful hydrothermal pools
and
terraces of Dallol
By
Kotopoulou Electra -
CC BY-SA 4.0
Sulfur ponds
By A.Savin
Salt deposits in the salt
lake Karum.
Lake Karum (also known as Lake Assale or Asale) is a salt lake in the
Afar Region of Ethiopia. One of two salt lakes in the northern end of the
Danakil Depression (the other one being Lake Afrera), it lies at -120m
(-394ft) relative to sea level. The volcano Erta Ale rises southeast of this
lake.
Werner Munzinger, who traveled through the Afar Depression in 1867,
recorded that this lake was fed by four streams: The Didic, the Ala, the
Rira Guddy, and the Ragali or Awra, which is the only permanent stream
flowing into Lake Karum.
North of Lake Karum is the former mining-settlement of Dallol. The lake
is extremely salty and is surrounded by a salt-pan, which is still mined.
The salt is transported by caravan to the rest of the country. (*1)
Leaving lake Karum behind.
Approaching lake Afrera.
From there we fly southwards until the small unmanned aerodrome of
Semera (HASM) where we'll land in the dust runway 13.
Lake Afrera (in Italian Lake Giuletti) is a hypersaline lake in northern
Ethiopia. Located in Kilbet Rasu, Afar Region, it is one of the lakes of the
Danakil Depression. According to its entry in Lakenet, it has a surface area
of 100 km2 (39 sq mi), although another source states the area is 125 km2
(48 sq mi). An unconfirmed report gives its depth as 160 m (525 ft); the
lake is fed by underground streams.
It is also known as Lake Giulietti, the name Raimondo Franchetti gave it
after the Italian explorer Giuseppe Maria Giulietti was slain by Afars
southwest of the lake. Another name for this body of water is Lake Egogi (or
Egogi Bad), which is the name L. M. Nesbitt's Afar guide gave it when the
Italian explorer became the first European to see it in 1928.
The single island in Lake Afrera, Franchetti Island (also known as "Deset"),
located in the southern part of the lake, is considered the lowest-lying
island in the world. (*1)
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(*1) Credits: The descriptive texts are mainly an
excerpt of those provided by
Wikipedia. Visit
Wikipedia to read
the full descriptions.
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