Talk:Afar Depression

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I'm wondering if the Afar Depression is the same place as Denakil/Danakil? Wikipedia does not yet have an article for the latter. Or is one place located within the other? Glad to see this article, at any rate. Thanks! -- Gyrofrog (talk) 04:34, 17 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Yes it is. A redirect would probably in order, and a mention of the term Danakil (I see it's been done already). Zyzzy, it's great to have this article, thank you! — mark ✎ 11:24, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Name

Are we sure that 'Afar Depression' is the most common name? Denakil/Danakil is a name I come across very often. — mark ✎ 12:57, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)

The maps that I've seen say "Danakil." I haven't seen "Afar Depression" as such on a map. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 16:58, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Mark, what you added on the envronment is great. Gyrofrog, the Danakil is only the northernmost part of the depression, as I understand it. Zyzzy 18:37, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)Zyzzy

I've made a redirect from Danakil Depression, so that no reader is left behind. --Wetman 18:46, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Thanks for the clarification, Zyzzy. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 19:08, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
However, here's more. Danakil or Denakil is originally Arabic; it has been used as a name for the region but also as an ethnonym for the Afar people, who consider it derogatory and prefer to be called Afari; 'Adal' is their Amharic designation, but Adal was also the name of a historic Islamic state in that region. The region is sometimes called Afar after the people, but Denakil/Danakil is the most widely used term as far as I know. Yet another variant is 'Dankali', and I should not forget 'Afar triangle'.
Now, the weird thing is that 'Denakil' seems to be favourite as a generic name for the desert (2,650 hits vs. 708 for "danakil desert" and 175 for "afar desert"), whereas 'Afar Depression' is by far the most used term in geologic contexts (3,970 hits vs. 883 for "Danakil depression" and 661 for "Denakil depression").
I think 'Afar Depression' was a good name when we only had the geology, but now that I've added an 'Environment' section it might be better to use 'Danakil' or 'Denakil'. Gee, I don't know. — mark ✎ 19:18, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Heh. From my reading of Ethiopia, most of the ethnic groups say that the names other groups have given them is offensive, usually because that exonym means "stranger". However, almost all of the ethnic names in Ethiopia mean "stranger" in one language or another; I believe even Ge'ez does, an allusion to these faithful Christians being exiles from the Holy Land. The only exonym that I would agree could be considered offensive is "Galla" for Oromo, who are mostly Moslem because of a folk etymology for Galla (Kal la, pronounced Gal la, "he said no") that implies that they refused Mohammed's offer to convert to Islam. The other cases, IMNSHO, appear to be attempts to guilt others to using their preferred names over what they have been called until recently (e.g., "Beta Israel", or "Church of Israel", for Falasha). Sorry for the rant. -- llywrch 20:07, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Right, even a term in such wide use as habesha was originally derogatory, if I'm not mistaken (some take offense with this term today, though for different reasons [1]). -- Gyrofrog (talk) 20:57, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
And we can add Dorobo to the list of really derogative terms, but what do you guys think of the name of this article? (I'm sorry - I started talking about derogatory in the first place.) — mark ✎ 21:11, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Well, sorry to get off topic over a tangental detail; I guess someone decided to teach me a lesson for my rant by breaking my ISP for a couple of days. Anyway, I do want to point out that this article has shaped up quite nicely over the last few days, not in the least due to the photos Zyzzy has contributed. -- llywrch 05:14, 25 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Thanks. You'll note that the location of Danakil is shown. Really the geologic province should be caled Afar-Danakil but no one refers toit like that. Zyzzy 12:30, 25 Jun 2005 (UTC)Zyzzy

[edit] Recent Developments

There have been some really interesting geological developments in this region since this article was last edited. Someone should include the new info. I will put it on my list of things to do, but it will probably be a while before I can get to it. Here are some sources:

Involves recent major earthquakes, rapid expansion of fissures, accelerated sinking rates, and increased volcanic activity. --WilliamThweatt 01:32, 16 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Importance rating

I've moved the importance of this article from "Mid" (which was Yom's opinion) to "High" for these reasons:

  • Geologic importance of the region (e.g., it is where the African continent can be seen in creation)
  • Familiarity (which is higher under its other name "Danakil Depression")
  • Balance -- I rated Ethiopian highlands as a "High" in importance. Both are equally important features of Ethiopia's geography.

Comments? -- llywrch 20:15, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

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