CHAPTER THREE

THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ETHIOPIA AND THE

HORN
General Characteristics of the Ethiopian Physiography
 The Ethiopian landform is characterized by great
diversity.
 There are flat-topped plateaus, high and rugged
mountains, deep river gorges and vast plains.
 Altitude ranges from 125 meters below sea level
(Kobar Sink) to the highest mountain in Ethiopia,
Mount Ras Dashen (4,620 m.a.s.l), which is the
fourth highest mountain in Africa.
 Ethiopia has the largest proportion of elevated
landmass in the African continent. 1
It is sometimes described as the Roof of East
Africa because of its height and large area.
 More than 50% of the Ethiopian landmass is
above 1,000 meters of elevation; and above 1,500
meters makes 44% of the country.
• Most of the country consists of high plateau and
mountain ranges that are sources of many rivers
and streams that made the country to be described
as the “Water Tower of East Africa”.
 The diversity in topography is accompanied by
differences in other natural features such as soil,
climate, vegetation and wild life.

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• Taking the 1,000 meters contour line for the
highland-lowland demarcation, one observes the
following contrasting features between the
Ethiopian highlands and lowlands:
Characteristics of Ethiopian highlands:
 Moderate and high amount of rainfall (>600 mm
per year).
 Lower mean annual temperature (<200C).
 The climate is favourable for biotic life.
 Rain-fed agriculture is possible.
 Free from tropical diseases.
 Attractive for human habitation and densely settled
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• The cumulative effect of all this is that, the
highlands have been significant throughout
Ethiopian history in the economic, cultural
and political life of the people.
• These highlands make up nearly 56% of the area
of the Ethiopia.
• This is further subdivided into lower highland
(1,000 -2,000 m.a.s.l), which make up 35% and
higher highland (>2,000 m.a.s.l) constituting nearly
22%.
 In contrast to the highlands, the remaining 44% of
the Ethiopian lands are lowlands

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 Characteristics of Ethiopian lowlands:
Fewer amounts of rainfall and higher
temperature.
High prevalence of tropical diseases.
Lower population densities.
Nomadic and semi-nomadic economic life.
Vast plain lands favourable for irrigation
agriculture along the lower river basins.

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 The Physiographic Divisions of Ethiopia
Following the structural divisions brought about by
the geologic processes of the Cenozoic Era, three
major physiographic units can be identified in
Ethiopia.
These are:
1.The Western highlands and lowlands
2.The South-eastern(Eastern) highlands and
lowlands
3.The Rift Valley.

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 The Western Highlands and Lowlands
• This physiographic unit includes all the area
west of the Rift Valley.
• It extends from north to south
encompassing nearly the whole
western half of Ethiopia.
• It makes up about 44% of the area of
the country.
• This region is further subdivided into four
groups of highlands (76.3%) and four groups
of lowlands (23.7%)
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 The Western Highlands
A. TheTigray Plateau
• It extends from the Tekeze gorge in the south to
central Eritrean highlands.
• The Tigray plateau is separated from the Eritrean
plateau by the Mereb River.
• It lies to the southeast of the upper course of the
Mereb/Gash River and to the northeast of Tekeze
River Gorge.
It constitutes about 13% of the area of the
region. It is an elongated highland with most
of the land being in between 1,000 and
2,000 meters above sea level. 8
• The right bank tributaries of Tekeze drain
this plateau.
There are high mountains in this plateau with
elevations of over 3000 meters, namely
 Mount Tsibet (3988 m.a.s.l),
Mount Ambalage (3291 m.a.s.l), and
Mount Assimba (3248 m.a.s.l).
B . North Central Massifs
• This Physiographic division is the largest in the
western highlands.
• Much of its northern and southern limit follows the
Abay and Tekeze gorges.
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• Fifty-eight percent of the region is at an
altitude of more than 2,000 meters, making
it, next to the Shewan Plateau, the second
highest physiographic division.
• The region consists of the Gonder, Wello
and Gojjam Massifs.
• Out of the 26 mountain peaks with altitude of
more than 4,000m.a.s.l in Ethiopia, 19
mountain peaks are found in this
physiographic region.

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• Among these, the most popular ones include
 Mount Ras Dashen (4,620 m.a.s.l),
 Mount Weynobar/Ancua (4462 m.a.s.l),
 Mount KidisYared (4453 m.a.s.l), and
 Mount Bwahit (4437 m.a.s.l) in the Simen Mountain
System.
 Mount Guna (4,231m.a.s.l) in the Debre Tabour
Mountain System,
 Abune Yoseph (4,260 m.a.s.l) in the Lasta
highlands of Wello and
 Mount Birhan (4,154 m.a.s.l) in the Choke
Mountain System in Gojjam are also part of Simen
Mountain System. 11
 C. The Shewan Plateau/central highlands
 The Shewan plateau is bounded by the Rift Valley
in the east and southeast, by the Abay gorge in its
northern and western limit, and the Omo gorge in
the south and west.
 This plateau occupies a central geographical
position in Ethiopia.
 With only 11% of the area of the whole
physiographic region, the Shewa Plateau is the
smallest of the Western highlands.
 Nearly three-fourth of its area is at an altitude of
more than 2,000 meters above sea level.
 It has, therefore, the largest proportion of elevated
ground. 12
 The highest mountain in the Shewan plateau is
Mount Abuye-Meda (4,000 m.a.s.l) in Northern
Shewa, Mount Guraghe in the south is 3,721
meters high.
D .The Southwestern Highlands
• This Physiographic subdivision consists of the
highlands of Wellega, Illuababora, Jimma, Kaffa,
Gamo and Gofa.
• This region is separated from the adjacent
highlands by the Abay and Omo river valleys.
• It extends from the Abay gorge in the north to the
Kenya border and Chew Bahir in the south.
• It accounts for 22.7% of the area of the region.
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• The region is the second largest in the Western
highlands.
• About 70% of its area is lies within 1,000-2,000
meters altitude.
 The southwestern plateau is the wettest in
Ethiopia. It is drained by Dabus,
Deddessa(tributaries of Abay), Baro, Akobo and
the Ghibe/Omo rivers.
With a heightof 4,200 meters above sea
level, Guge Mountain is the highest peak in
this physiographic subdivision.

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 The Western Lowlands
They make 11% of the area of the physiographic
region.
The general elevation ranges between 500 and
1000 meters above sea level.
This physiographic sub-region is further subdivided
into four by the protruding ridges.
 These are:-
 Tekeze lowland,
 Abay-Dinder lowland,
 Baro lowland, and
 Ghibe lowland from north to south.
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 With the exception of the Barolowland, the region
is generally characterized by arid or semi-arid
conditions.
 Pastoral or semi-pastoral economic activities
dominate the area.
 As one moves northwards, the degree of aridity
increases, making rain-fed agriculture more
difficult.
 Since one or two rivers cross all of these lowlands,
irrigation agriculture is highly feasible.
 For example, the Barolowland has an extensive
flat area suitable for mechanized agriculture.

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The Ghibe/Omolowland, which includes the
lower Ghibe/OmoValley and the northern
section of the Turkana basin, is classified in
the Western lowlands from its geographical
location.
In the Western lowlands, there are small but
important towns.
Their importance could be related to
agriculture, history, or are simply border
towns and frontier ports. These are Humera,
Metema, Omedla, Kurmuk, Gambella etc.

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.
 The Southeastern Highlands and Lowlands
• This physiographic region is the second largest in
terms of area.
• It accounts for 37% of the area of Ethiopia.
• The highlands make up 46% of the physiographic
division while the rest is lowland.
• In the west and north, the eastern escarpment of
the Rift Valley makes the western and northern
limit.
• These are further subdivided into two units of
highlands and two units of extensive lowlands.
These are briefly discussed as follows.

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 The Southeastern Highlands
A.The Arsi-Bale-Sidama Highlands
• These highlands are found to the east of the Lakes
Region.
• They are located in the south western section of
the physiographic region.
• They make up 28.5% of the area of the region and
62% of the south -Eastern Highlands.
• The Arsi Highlands are made up of flat rolling
uplands and dissected mountains.
• The well-known mountains in this area are Mount
Kaka (4,180 m.a.s.l), Mount Bada (4,139 m.a.s.l)
and Mount Chilalo (4,036 m.a.s.l).
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The Bale highlands are separated from the
Arsi highlands by the head and main stream
of Wabishebelle.
• The highest mountain peaks in this region
are Tulu-Demtu (4,377 m.a.s.l) and Mount
Batu (4,307 m.a.s.l).
• The Arsi-Bale Highlands are important grains
producing areas with still high potential.
• The Sidama Highlands are separated from
the Bale Highlands by the Ghenale river
valley.
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They occupy the southwestern corner of this
region.
The prominent feature here is the Jemjem
plateau, an important coffee growing area.
Rivers Wabishebelle and Ghenale along with
their tributarieshave dissected this
physiographic region.
 Specially, Weyb River, tributary of Ghenale,
has cut an underground passage (Sof Omar
cave) through the Mesozoic Limestone
rocks.
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 B.The Hararghe Plateau
• This plateau is a north-easterly extension of the
south-eastern highlands.
• It extends from the Chercher highlands in the
south-west to Jigjiga in the east.
• It makes up 38% of the South Eastern highlands
and 17.4% of the whole physiographic region.
• It has the smallest proportion of upper highland
(>2,000 meters).
• It is a low lying and elongated region.
• The left-bank tributaries of Wabishebelle drain it.
• The highest mountain here is Mount Gara-Muleta
(3,381 m.a.s.l).
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 The Southeastern Lowlands
• The Southeastern lowlands are located in the
southeastern part of the country and they are the
most extensive lowlands in Ethiopia.
• They make up 54% of the area of the
physiographic region and around one-fifth of the
country.
• This region is divided into Wabishebelle plain
(60%) and the Ghenale Plain (40%).
• They include the plains of Ogaden, Elkere, and
Borena.
 Because of the harsh climatic conditions, these
lowlands are little used and support very small
population. 23
They are sparsely inhabited by pastoral and
semi-pastoral communities.
The economic potential for this region
includes
animal husbandry,
irrigation,
agriculture and
perhaps exploitation of petroleum and
natural gas.

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 The Rift Valley
• The Rift Valley is a tectonically formed structural
depression.
• It is bounded by two major and more or less
parallel escarpments.
• The formation of the Rift Valley has separated the
Ethiopian Highlands and Lowlands in to two.
• It extends from the Afar triangle in the north to
Chew Bahir for about 1,700 km2.
• It covers 18% of the area of Ethiopia. It is
elongated and funnel shaped, with a NE-SW
orientation.
• It opens out in the Afar Triangle, where it is the
widest, and narrows down to the south ,25
 Because of its altitudinal variation and positional
differences, the climate also varies from warm, hot
and dry to cool and moderately moist conditions.
 Similarly, the social and economic life reflects this
pattern.
• There are places, which are desolate and sparsely
inhabited by pastoralists where as in others parts
people practice some rain-fed agriculture.
• The Rift Valley is further subdivided into three
physiographic sub-regions.
• These are:-
• the Afar Triangle,
• the Main Ethiopian Rift, and
• the Chew Bahir Rift.
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 i. The Afar Triangle
• The Afar Triangle is the largest and widest part of
the Rift Valley.
• It makes up 54% of the Rift Valley area.
• It is bounded by the high western and eastern
escarpments in the west and east respectively, and
by the Afar andAisha Horst in the northeast.
• The area is generally of low altitude (300-700
meters).
• The depression, which hosts one of the most
hostile environments on Earth (maximum
temperatures can exceed 50°C during the summer
wet season; Dallol, at the northern tip of Afar.
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The Afar Triangle is generally hot and dry.
The only respite one gets in the Southern part is
from the waters of the Awash River.
The economic importance of this region includes
salt extraction, irrigation along the Awash River
and electric potential from geothermal energy.
ii.The Main Ethiopian Rift/Central Rift
• It refers to the narrow belt of the Rift Valley
that extends from Awash River in the north
to Lake Chamo in the south.
• It is bounded by the western and eastern
escarpments.
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With the exception of the Arbaminch area,
the bounding escarpments are generally low.
This part of the Rift Valley is the narrowest
and the highest.
 It has an average width of 50-80 kilometers
and general elevation of 1,000-2,000 meters
above sea level.
• The floor in many places is dotted by cinder
cones and volcanic mountains.
• The big ones include Mount Fentale, Boseti-
guda (near Adama), Aletu (north of Lake
Ziway) and Chebi (north of Lake Hawasa). 29
• The northern section has more of these
cinder cones and lava fields.
• The prominent features, however, are the
numerous lakes formed on tectonic sags and
fault depressions.
• Because of altitude, the lakes region of the
Main Ethiopian Rift is generally milder and watery.
• Here rain-fed agriculture is practiced.
• Other resource bases include the
recreational value of the lakes, the
agricultural importance of some streams and
lakes, and the geothermal energy potential.30
 iii. The Chew Bahir Rift
• This is the smallest and the southern-most
part of the Rift Valley.
• Gneissic highlands of Konso and the
surrounding highlands separate it from the
Main Ethiopian Rift to the north.
• The characteristic feature of this region is the
broad and shallow depression, which is a
marshy area covered by tall grass, into
which the Segen and Woito streams empty.

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 The Impacts of Relief on Biophysical and
Socioeconomic Conditions
1.Agricultural practices
• Relief influences farm size and shape in that in an
area of rugged terrain the farmlands are small in
size and fragmented and tend to be irregular in
shape.
• Choice of farming techniques and farm implements
are highly influenced by relief as in rugged terrain
mechanized farming techniques are difficult to
practice.
• Relief influences crop production as some corps
are well adapted to higher altitudes (barley, wheat)
and others to low altitude (sorghum, maize). 32
The practice of animal husbandry is also influenced
by relief as most equines and sheep are reared in
the higher altitudes and camels and goat are well
adapted to lower altitudes
2.Settlement pattern
• Highlands of Ethiopia that experience a
temperate type of climatic condition that are
mainly free from most of the tropical
diseases are densely settled.
• Rugged and difficult terrain hinders the
development of settlement and its
expansion.
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The highlands of Ethiopia are characterized by
sedentary life and permanent settlements while
lowlands that are inhabited by pastoralists have
temporary settlements.
3.Transportation and communication
• The highly dissected nature of the landscape
is a barrier to the development of internal
surface transportation that resulted in the
long-term isolation of many communities
• The difficult terrain makes infrastructure
development and maintenance costly.

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TV and radio communications are also highly
influenced by relief.
The rugged topography rendered rivers less
navigable due to the waterfalls, deep gorges and
steep cliffs.
4.Hydroelectric power potential
The great difference in altitude coupled with
high rainfall created suitable conditions for a
very high potential for the production of
hydroelectric power in Ethiopia.

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 5.Socio-cultural feeling
 The rugged terrain as a result of excessive surface
dissection resulted in the long-term isolation of
communities that led to the occurrence of cultural
diversity.
 People who live in the highlands have been
identifying themselves as degegnas(mountaineers)
and those who live in the lowlands as
kollegnas(lowlanders).
6.Impacts on climate
The climate of Ethiopia is a result of the
tropical position of the country and the great
altitudinal variation of the general
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topography.
Highlands with higher amount of rainfall and lower
rate of evapo-transpiration tend to be moisture
surplus compared to the moisture deficit lowlands.
7.Impacts on soil
• Steep mountain slopes provide low angle of rest,
unstable surface materials and subject to
degradation processes and relatively form shallow
and little developed soils.
8.Impacts on natural vegetation
• Relief through its effect on climate and hydrology
affect the type of natural vegetation grown in an
area.

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