The
Awash is a major river of
EthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia, and empties into a chain of interconnected lakes that begin with Lake Gargori and end with
Lake AbbeLake Abbe or Lake Abhe Bad is a salt lake, lying on the Ethiopia-Djibouti border. It is one of a chain of six connected lakes, which also includes lakes Gargori, Laitali, Gummare, Bario and Afambo.-Overview:...
(or Abhe Bad) on the border with
DjiboutiDjibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
, some 100 kilometers (60 or 70 miles) from the head of the
Gulf of TadjouraThe Gulf of Tadjoura is a gulf or basin of the Indian Ocean in the Horn of Africa. It lies south of the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, or the entrance to the Red Sea, at . Most of its coastline is the territory of Djibouti, except for a short stretch on the southern shore, which is part of the...
. It is the principal stream of an
endorheicAn endorheic basin is a closed drainage basin that retains water and allows no outflow to other bodies of water such as rivers or oceans...
drainage basinA drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
covering parts of the
AmharaAmhara is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, containing the homeland of the Amhara people. Previously known as Region 3, its capital is Bahir Dar....
,
OromiaOromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...
and
Somali RegionSomali Region ; is the eastern-most of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia. It is often called Somalia, though it is not to be confused with the independent country of the same name. The capital of Somali State is Jijiga...
s, as well as the southern half of the
Afar RegionAfar is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, and is the homeland of the Afar people. Formerly known as Region 2, its current capital is Asayita; a new capital named Semera on the paved Awash - Asseb highway is under construction....
.
Overview
The Awash rises south of Mount Warqe, west of
Addis AbabaAddis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
in the
woredaWoreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...
of
EjerieEjerie is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Mirab Shewa Zone, it is bordered on the south by the Debub Mirab Shewa Zone, on the west by Dendi, on the northwest by Jeldu, on the north by Meta Robi, on the northeast by Adda Berga, and on the east by Walmara...
, close to the town of
Addis AlemAddis Alem is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the Mirab Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region, west of Addis Ababa, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of about 2360 meters above sea level....
,
Mirab (West) Shewa ZoneMirab Shewa is one of the 12 zones of the Oromia Region in Ethiopia. This zone takes its name from the kingdom or former province of Shewa...
,
OromiaOromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...
. Thence the Awash flows south to loop around
Mount ZuquallaMount Zuqualla is an extinct volcano in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. Situated in Ada'a Chukala woreda of the Misraq Shewa Zone, it rises from the plain 30 kilometers south of Debre Zeyit...
in an easterly then northeasterly direction, passing the
Awash National ParkAwash National Park is one of the National Parks of Ethiopia. Located at the southern tip of the Afar Region, this park is 225 kilometers east of Addis Ababa , with its southern boundary along the Awash River, and covers at least 756 square kilometers of acacia woodland and grassland...
, and joined on its left bank by its chief affluent, the
GermamaThe Germama River is a tributary of the Awash River in Ethiopia. The name Germama comes from the Amharic word which means "frolicking", "boisterous", or "frisky"....
(or Kasam) River, before turning northeast at approximately 11° N 40° 30' E as far north as 12° before turning completely east to reach lake Gargori.
According to materials published by the Ethiopian
Central Statistical AgencyThe Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...
, the Awash River is 1200 kilometers long. The author of the 1911
Encyclopædia BritannicaThe Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
article describes its middle portion as "a copious stream nearly 200 feet [60 meters] wide and 4 feet [1.2 meters] deep in the dry season, and during the floods rising 50 or 60 feet [15 to 20 meters] above low-water mark, thus inundating the plains for many miles along both its banks."
Other tributaries of the Awash include (in order upstream): the
LogiyaThe Logiya is a river of east-central Ethiopia. Having its source in the Ethiopian highlands, this stream flows eastwards to become a tributary of the Awash River near ....
,
MilleThe Mille River is a river of Ethiopia and a tributary of the Awash. It drains parts of the Semien Wollo and Debub Wollo Zones of the Amhara Region, as well as Administrative Zone 4 of the Afar Region.The explorer L.M...
,
BorkanaBorkana River is a river of central Ethiopia. A tributary of the Awash on the left side, the Borkana joins its parent stream at . Johann Ludwig Krapf records that it was called "Tshaffa" by the local Oromo people....
,
AtayeThe Ataye is a river in central Ethiopia. It is a tributary of the Awash River....
,
HawadiHawadi River is a river of Ethiopia. It is a tributary of the Awash River, which it joins at ....
,
KabennaThe Kabenna is a river of central Ethiopia. It is a tributary of the Awash River on the left side, having its source to the southwest of Ankobar. G.W.B. Huntingford speculates it may be the same river as the Kuba, which is mentioned in the Futuh al-habaša , the narrative of Imam Ahmad Gragn's...
and
Durkham RiverDurkham River is a river of Ethiopia. It is a tributary of the Awash River....
s. Towns and cities along its course include
MeteharaMetehara is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the Misraq Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region, it has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 947 meters above sea level....
,
AwashAwash is a market town in central Ethiopia. Located in Administrative Zone 3 of the Afar Region, above a gorge on the Awash River, after which the town is named, the town lies on the Addis Ababa - Djibouti Railway, which crosses the gorge by a bridge there...
,
GewaneGewane is a town in northeastern Ethiopia. Located in Administrative Zone 3 of the Afar Region, it has an elevation of 618 meters above sea level. Gewane is locally known as New Gewane, 2 kilometers east of the original settlement known as Old Gewane; the town was relocated astride the main,...
and
AsaitaAsaita is a town in northeastern Ethiopia, and before 2007 was the capital of the Afar Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Afambo woreda, part of the Region's Administrative Zone 1, this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 300 meters....
.
History
Humans have lived in the valley of the Awash at least since very near the beginning of the species. The
Middle AwashThe Middle Awash is an archaeological site along the Awash River in Ethiopia's Afar Depression. A number of Pleistocene and late Miocene hominid remains have been found at the site, along with some of the oldest known Olduwan stone artifacts and patches of fire-baked clay, disputed evidence of the...
has been where numerous pre-human
hominidThe Hominidae or include them .), as the term is used here, form a taxonomic family, including four extant genera: chimpanzees , gorillas , humans , and orangutans ....
remains have been found.
The valley of the Awash from about 9° N downstream is the traditional home of the
Afar peopleThe Afar , also known as the Danakil, are an ethnic group in the Horn of Africa. They primarily live in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and in northern Djibouti, although some also inhabit the southern point of Eritrea.-Early history:...
. The valley of the Awash have been included as part of the territories of the historic provinces or kingdoms of Dawaro, Fatagar,
IfatThe Ifat Sultanate was a medieval Muslim sultanate in the Horn of Africa. Led by the Walashma dynasty, it was centered in Zeila. The kingdom ruled over parts of what is now eastern Ethiopia, Djibouti and northern Somalia.-Location:...
, and
ShewaShewa is a historical region of Ethiopia, formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire...
. Except for Shewa, these provinces disappeared with the arrival of groups of the
OromoThe Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...
in the 16th century.
The first European to trace the course of the Awash to its end in the Aussa oasis was
Wilfred ThesigerSir Wilfred Patrick Thesiger, CBE, DSO, FRAS, FRGS was a British explorer and travel writer born in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.-Family:...
in 1933/1934, who started at the city of Awash, followed the river's course to its final end in Lake Abhebad, and continued his expedition west to
TadjouraTadjoura is the oldest town in Djibouti and the capital of the Tadjourah region. Lying on the Gulf of Tadjoura, it is home to a population of around 25,000 inhabitants.Tadjoura has an airstrip and is linked by ferry with Djibouti City...
. (Although the explorer L.M. Nesbitt had followed parts of the course of the Awash in 1928, he turned away from the river at Asaita and proceeded north through the
Afar DepressionThe Afar Triangle is a geological depression that is caused by the Afar Triple Junction which is part of the Great Rift Valley. It overlaps Eritrea, Djibouti and the entire Afar Region of Ethiopia. The Afar Triangle includes the Danakil Depression and the lowest point in Africa, Lake Asal...
to the Red Sea.)
In 1960, the Koka Dam was completed across the Awash River at a point about 75 kilometers from Addis Ababa, and with its opening became a major source of hydroelectric power in the area. The resulting freshwater lake, Lake Gelila (also known as the
Koka ReservoirThe Koka Reservoir is a reservoir) in south-central Ethiopia. It was created by the construction of the Koka Dam across the Awash River...
), has an area of about 180 square kilometers. Both lake and dam are threatened by increasing
sedimentationSedimentation is the tendency for particles in suspension to settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained, and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to the forces acting on them: these forces can be due to gravity, centrifugal acceleration...
.
The
Awash International BankAwash International Bank is a full-service bank in Ethiopia. According to its website, the bank has 60 branches and 480,000 customers. Its deposits in 2007 exceeded 3.4 billion birr....
is named for the Awash River.
Fauna
The lower Awash valley is one of the last refugees for the
African wild assThe African Wild Ass is a wild member of the horse family, Equidae. This species is believed to be the ancestor of the domestic donkey which is usually placed within the same species. They live in the deserts and other arid areas of northeastern Africa, in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia; it...
. It is extinct now in
Yangudi Rassa National ParkYangudi Rassa National Park is one of the National Parks of Ethiopia. Located in the Afar Region, its 4730 square kilometers of territory include Mount Yangudi near the southern border and the surrounding Rassa Plains, with altitudes from 400 to 1459 meters above sea level. Sandy semi-desert and...
but still found in the adjacent Mile-Serdo Wild Ass Reserve. Other large animals native to the area include Beisa Oryx,
Soemmering's gazelleSoemmerring's Gazelle is a gazelle that lives in eastern Africa.-Subspecies:* Somali Soemmerring Gazelle Nanger soemmeringii berberana...
,
Dorcas gazelleThe Dorcas Gazelle , also known as the Ariel Gazelle, is a small and common gazelle. The Dorcas Gazelle stands approximately 55-65 cm . Dorcas gazelle have a head and body length of 90-110 cm and a weight of 15-20 kg...
,
gerenukThe Gerenuk , also known as the Waller's Gazelle, is a long-necked species of antelope found in dry bushy scrub and steppe in East Africa, from Somalia and eastern Ethiopia through northern and eastern Kenya to northeastern Tanzania...
and
Grevy's zebraThe Grévy's zebra , also known as the Imperial zebra, is the largest extant wild equid and one of three species of zebra, the other two being the plains zebra and the mountain zebra. Named after Jules Grévy, it is the sole extant member of the subgenus Dolichohippus. The Grévy's zebra is found in...
.
See also
External links
Further reading
- Zewdu Tememew Molla, "Dam Safety Evaluation on Koka Dam, Ethiopia". M.Sc. thesis, 2005. abstract