Geography of Ethiopia

Ethiopia is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered on the north and northeast by Eritrea, on the east by Djibouti and Somalia, on the south by Kenya, and on the west and southwest by Sudan. The country has a high central plateau that varies from 1,800 to 3,000 m (6,000 to 10,000 ft) above sea level, with the highest mountain reaching 4,533 m (14,872 ft). Elevation is generally highest just before the point of descent to the Great Rift Valley, which splits the plateau diagonally. A number of rivers cross the plateau -- notably the Blue Nile rising from Lake Tana. The plateau gradually slopes to the lowlands of the Sudan on the west and the Somali-inhabited plains to the southeast.

The climate is temperate on the plateau and hot in the lowlands. At Addis Ababa, which ranges from 2,200 to 2,600 m (7,000 to 10,000 ft), maximum temperature is 26 °C (80 °F) and minimum 4 °C (40 °F). The weather is usually sunny and dry with the short (belg) rains occurring February-April and the big (meher) rains beginning in mid-June and ending in mid-September.
Topography

Nabro and Mallahle Volcanoes, Eritrea and Ethiopia - SRTM Colored Height and Shaded Relief. [1]Between the valley of the Upper Nile and Ethiopia's border with Eritrea is a region of elevated plateaus from which rise various mountain ranges. These tablelands and mountains constitute the Ethiopian Highlands. On nearly every side, the walls of the plateaus rise abruptly from the plains, constituting outer mountain chains. The highlands are thus a clearly marked orographic division. In Eritrea, the eastern wall of this plateau runs parallel to the Red Sea from Ras Kasar (18° N.) to Annesley Bay (also known as the Bay of Zula) (15° N.) It then turns due south into Ethiopia and follows closely the line of 40° E. for some 400 miles (600 km). About 9° N. there is a break in the wall, through which the Awash River flows eastward. The main range at this point trends southwest, while south of the Awash Valley, which is some 3000 ft (1000 m) below the level of the mountains, another massif rises in a direct line south. This second range sends a chain (the Harar hills) eastward toward the Gulf of Aden. The two chief eastern ranges maintain a parallel course south by west, with a broad upland valley in between — in which valley are a series of lakes — to about 3° N., the outer (eastern) spurs of the plateau still keeping along the line of 40° E. The southern escarpment of the plateau is highly irregular, but has a general direction northwest and southeast from 6° N. to 3° N. It overlooks the depression in which is Lake Turkana and — east of that lake — the southern Sidamo region (part of the larger Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region). The western wall of the plateau from 6° N. to 11° N. is well marked and precipitous. North of 11° N. the hills turn more to the east and fall more gradually to the plains at their base. On its northern face the plateau falls in terraces to the level of the eastern Sudan. The eastern escarpment is the best defined of these outer ranges. It has a mean height of 7000 to 8000 ft (2,100 to 2,400 m), and in many places rises almost perpendicularly from the plain. Narrow and deep clefts, through which descend mountain torrents that lose themselves in the sandy soil of the Eritrean coast, afford means of reaching the plateau, or the easier route through the Awash Valley may be chosen. On surmounting this rocky barrier, the traveller finds that the encircling rampart rises little above the normal level of the plateau.

The physical aspect of the highlands is impressive. The northern portion, lying mainly between 10° and 15° N., consists of a huge mass of Archaean rocks with a mean height of 7000 to 7500 ft (2,200 m) above sea level, and is flooded in a deep central depression by the waters of Lake Tana. Above the plateau rise several irregular and generally ill-defined mountain ranges which attain altitudes of from 12,000 to just under 15,000 ft (3,700 to 4,600 m). Many of the mountains are of unusual shape. Characteristic of the country are the enormous fissures which divide it, formed over time by the erosive action of water. They are in fact the valleys of the rivers which, rising on the uplands or mountain sides, have cut their way to the surrounding lowlands. Some of the valleys are of considerable width; in other cases the opposite walls of the gorges are but two or three hundred meters apart, and fall almost vertically thousands of feet, representing an erosion of many millions of cubic feet of hard rock. One result of the action of the water has been the formation of numerous isolated flat-topped hills or small plateaus, known as ambas, with nearly perpendicular sides. The highest peaks are found in the Simien and Gojam ranges. The Semien Mountains lie northeast of Lake Tana and culminate in the snow-covered peak of Ras Dejen, which has an altitude of 14,872 ft (4,533 m). A few miles east and north respectively of Ras Dejen are Mounts Biuat and Abba Yared, whose summits are a few feet only below that of Ras Dejen. In the Chok Mountains in Gojam, Agsias Fatra attains a height of 13,600 ft (4,150 m).

Parallel with the eastern escarpment are the heights of Baila, 12,500 ft (3,810 m), Mount Abuna Yosef, 13,780 ft (4,200 m), and Kollo, 14,100 ft (4,300 m), the last-named being southwest of Magdala. The valley between these hills and the eastern escarpment is one of the longest and most profound chasms in Ethiopia. Between Lake Tana and the eastern hills are Mounts Guna, 13,800 ft (4,210 m), and Uara Sahia, 13,000 ft (3,960 m). (These figures are approximate.) Below 10° N., the southern portion of the highlands has more open tableland than the northern portion and fewer lofty peaks. Though there are a few heights between 10,000 and 12,000 ft (3,000 and 4,000 m), the majority do not exceed 8000 ft (2,400 m), but the general character of the southern regions is the same as in the north: a much-broken hilly plateau.

Climate
The climate of Ethiopia and its dependent territories varies greatly. The Somali Region and the Danakil lowlands in the Afar Region have a hot, dry climate producing semi-desert conditions; the country in the lower basin of the Sobat is hot, swampy and malarious. But over the greater part of Ethiopia as well as the Oromia highlands the climate is very healthy and temperate. The country lies wholly within the tropics, but its nearness to the equator is counterbalanced by the elevation of the land. In the deep valleys of the Tekezé and Abay, and generally in places below 4000 ft, the conditions are tropical and diseases such as malaria are prevalent. On the uplands, however, the air is cool and bracing in summer, and in winter very bleak. The mean range of temperature is between 60 °F and 80 °F (15 °C to 25 °C). On the higher mountains the climate is Alpine in character. The atmosphere on the plateaus is exceedingly clear, so that objects are easily recognizable at great distances. In addition to the variation in climate dependent on elevation, the year may be divided into three seasons. Winter, or the cold season, lasts from October to February, and is followed by a dry hot period, which about the middle of June gives place to the rainy season. The rain is heaviest in the Tekezé basin in July and August.

In the former provinces of Gojjam and Welega heavy rains continue till the middle of September, and occasionally October is a wet month. There are also spring and winter rains; indeed rain often falls in every month of the year. But the rainy season proper, caused by the southwest monsoon, lasts from June to mid-September, and commencing in the north moves southward. In the region of the headwaters of the Sobat the rains begin earlier and last longer. The rainfall varies from about 30 in (750 mm) a year in Tigray and Amhara to over 40 in (1000 mm) in parts of Oromia. The rainy season is of great importance not only to Ethiopia but to the countries of the Nile valley, as the prosperity of the eastern Sudan and Egypt is largely dependent upon the rainfall. A season of light rain may be sufficient for the needs of Ethiopia, but there is little surplus water to find its way to the Nile; and a shortness of rain means a low Nile, as practically all the flood water of that river is derived from the Ethiopian tributaries.

Flora and Fauna
As in a day's journey the traveller may pass from tropical to almost Alpine conditions of climate, so great also is the range of the flora and fauna. In the valleys and lowlands the vegetation is dense, but the general appearance of the plateaus is of a comparatively bare country with trees and bushes thinly scattered over it. The glens and ravines on the hillside are often thickly wooded, and offer a delightful contrast to the open downs.

These conditions are particularly characteristic of the northern regions; in the south the vegetation on the uplands is more luxuriant. Among the many varieties of trees and plants found are the date palm, mimosa, wild olive, giant sycamores, junipers and laurels, the myrrh and other gum trees (gnarled and stunted, these flourish most on the eastern foothills), a magnificent pine (the Natal yellow pine, which resists the attacks of the white ant), the fig, orange, lime, pomegranate, peach, apricot, banana, and other fruit trees; the grape vine (rare), blackberry, and raspberry; the cotton and indigo Plants, and occasionally the sugar cane. There are in the south large forests of valuable timber trees; and the coffee plant is indigenous in the Kaffa country, whence it takes its name. Many kinds of grasses and flowers abound. Large areas are covered by the kussa, a hardy member of the rose family, which grows from 8 to 10 ft high and has abundant pendent red blossoms. The flowers and the leaves of this plant are highly prized for medicinal purposes. The fruit of the hurarina, a tree found almost exclusively in Shoa, yields a black grain highly esteemed as a spice. On the tableland a great variety of cereals and vegetables are cultivated. A fibrous plant, known as the sansevieria, grows in a wild state in the semi-desert regions of the north and south-east.

In addition to the domestic animals enumerated below (sec. 8) the fauna is very varied. Elephant and rhinoceros are numerous in certain low-lying districts, especially in the Sobat valley. The Ethiopian rhinoceros has two horns and its skin has no folds. The hippopotamus and crocodile inhabit the larger rivers flowing west, but are not found in the Hawash, in which, however, otters of large size are plentiful. Lions abound in the low countries and in Somaliland. In central Ethiopia the lion is no longer found except occasionally in the river valleys. Leopards, both spotted and black, are numerous and often of great size; hyenas are found everywhere and are hardy and fierce; the lynx, wolf, wild dog and jackal are also common. Boars and badgers are more rarely seen. The giraffe is found in the western districts, the zebra and wild ass frequent the lower plateaus and the rocky hills of the north. There are large herds of buffalo and antelope, and gazelles of many varieties and in great numbers are met with in most parts of the country. Among the varieties are the greater and lesser kudu (both rather rare); the duiker, gemsbuck, hartebeest, gerenuk (the most common--it has long thin legs and a camel-like neck); klipspringer, found on the high plateaus as well as in the lower districts; and the dik-dik, the smallest of the antelopes, its weight rarely exceeding 5 kg (10 lb), common in the low countries and the foothills. The civet is found in many parts of Ethiopia, but chiefly in the Galla regions. Squirrels and hares are numerous, as are several kinds of monkeys, notably the guereza, gelada, guenon and dog-faced baboon. They range from the tropical lowlands to heights of 10,000 ft.

Birds are very numerous, and many of them remarkable for the beauty of their plumage. Great numbers of eagles, vultures, hawks, bustards and other birds of prey are met with; and partridges, duck, teal, guineafowl, sandgrouse, curlews, woodcock, snipe, pigeons, thrushes and swallows are very plentiful. A fine variety of ostrich is commonly found. Among the birds prized for their plumage are the marabout, crane, heron, blacks bird, parrot, jay and hummingbirds of extraordinary brilliance,

Among insects the most numerous and useful is the bee, honey everywhere constituting an important part of the food of the inhabitants. Of an opposite class is the locust. There are thousands of varieties of butterflies and other insects. Snakes are not numerous, but several species are poisonous.