Hell Gate - lake lava burning for hundreds of years

Joel Santos ventured to take pictures of one of the world's oldest continuous burning lava lakes, also known as the Hell Gate, located at the Etra Ale volcano.

These impressive photos show viewers rare scenes in Hell's Door, one of the world's oldest continuous burning lakes.

Portuguese photographer Joel Santos uses a flying camera to photograph a boiling boiling lava lake, reaching temperatures of over 1,100 degrees Celsius, while he is only about 1 meter away from the edge of the lake.

According to Santos, about 2-3 minutes, you can hear the screeching under the volcano and a sudden crack open.

Santos is well aware of the risk of recording intense natural phenomena at such a close distance.

This lava lake has been operating continuously since 1906 and is located in a 610 m high Erta Ale volcano, in the Afar region, northern Ethiopia.

The most recent major eruption of the Erta Ale took place in 2005, killing 250 cattle and forcing thousands of people living nearby to evacuate.

Danakil Desert, where Erta Ale volcano is located, is the hottest non-residential area in the world.Santos can only record in the early morning or late evening.

Santos uses a flying camera to film on the lake, and four 4K resolution cameras withstand hot temperatures around the lake.

He warned: "I have to be very careful. Nature gives me a great performance, but very dangerous."

Erta Ale is a volcanic basalt shaped shield.

The world has only 6 volcanoes of this type, and this is one of the few you can reach.

With Santos, this is an incredible experience.He was taken aback by the natural world and thought there would be more surprises ahead.

Information about the Erta Ale is quite limited, due to the surrounding terrain is the world's most harsh, and the local aborigines do not welcome strangers.

Having many difficulties, Santos still has great works after coming here twice.

He said Erta Ale "is the most surreal, overwhelming and captivating sight one can see in his life".