Ethiopian Highlands facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ethiopian Highlands
The Semien Mountains with the tallest peak Ras Dashen in the Ethiopian Highlands are a World Heritage Site and include the Semien Mountains National Park
Highest point
Elevation	4,550 m (14,930 ft)
Geography
Topographic map
Location	Ethiopia
Geology
Age of rock	75 million years
Mountain type	Mountain range

The Ethiopian Highlands (also called the Abyssinian Highlands) is a huge group of mountains in Ethiopia, located in Northeast Africa. It's the biggest area of high land on the continent. Most of its surface is above 1,500 meters (about 4,900 feet). Some mountain tops reach as high as 4,550 meters (about 14,900 feet).

Because it's so high and wide, people sometimes call it the "Roof of Northeastern Africa." Ethiopia is the only country in this region with such a large elevated area. The Great Rift Valley, a giant crack in the Earth's surface, cuts through the highlands. This rift stretches from Syria all the way to Mozambique. Most of the Ethiopian Highlands are in central and northern Ethiopia. The northernmost part even reaches into Eritrea.

A Look Back: History of the Highlands

A coffee cup from the time of the Kaffa Kingdom

Long ago, in the southern part of the Ethiopian Highlands, there was a kingdom called Kingdom of Kaffa. This kingdom existed during the medieval and early modern times. It was from here that the coffee plant first traveled to the Arabian Peninsula.

The land of the old Kaffa Kingdom is very mountainous and has many forests. It's also very fertile, meaning farmers can grow crops three times a year! The word coffee actually comes from the Arabic word qahwah, which is linked to Kaffa.

Exploring the Land: Physical Geography

The Main Ethiopian Rift divides the Highlands into two main parts: the northwestern and southeastern sections. This rift valley contains several salt lakes.

Northwestern Highlands

The northwestern part is known as the Abyssinian Massif. It includes the Semien Mountains, where you'll find the Simien Mountains National Park. The highest peak in Ethiopia, Ras Dashen, is located here. It stands at 4,550 meters (14,928 feet) tall. Lake Tana, which is the source of the Blue Nile River, is also in this northwestern area.

Southeastern Highlands

The southeastern part is called the Harar Massif. It's bordered by the Rift Valley to the west and the Ogaden Lowlands to the east. To the south, it meets the Elkerie and Borena Lowlands. Its tallest peaks are in the Bale Zone of Ethiopia's Oromia Region. The Bale Mountains, which are also a national park, are almost as high as the Semien Mountains. These mountains are the main source of the Wabishebelle and Genalle (Juba) rivers. Many peaks in this range are over 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) high. Some of the tallest include Mount Tullu Demtu (4,337 meters or 14,229 feet) and Mount Batu (4,307 meters or 14,131 feet).

Highland Cities

Many of Ethiopia's big cities are built high up, usually between 2,000 and 2,500 meters (about 6,500 to 8,200 feet) above sea level. This includes Addis Ababa, which is Ethiopia's capital and largest city. Other important historic cities like Gondar and Axum are also located in the highlands.

How They Formed: Geology

Dendi Caldera, a collapsed volcano in the mountain region

The Ethiopian Highlands started to form about 75 million years ago. This happened when hot, melted rock (magma) from deep inside the Earth pushed up a large area of old rocks. This area was part of what's called the Arabian-Nubian Shield.

Later, the opening of the Great Rift Valley split this huge dome of land into three parts. The mountains in the southern Arabian Peninsula are actually part of these ancient Ethiopian Highlands. They were separated when the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden formed, pulling Africa away from Arabia.

Around 30 million years ago, a massive amount of lava flowed out of cracks in the Earth. This created a thick plateau of basalt rock, layer upon layer. Most of this lava was a type called tholeiitic basalt. There were also some thinner layers of other types of lava and even some explosive volcano eruptions that created large bowl-shaped craters called calderas.

The Great Rift Valley continued to pull the African continent apart, eventually cutting through the Ethiopian Highlands. This pulling apart also led to the formation of large, dome-shaped volcanoes called shield volcanoes, which started erupting about 30-31 million years ago.

The northern Ethiopian Highlands have four distinct flat surfaces, with the oldest one forming at least 485 million years ago. The newest surface formed more recently and is partly covered by the ancient lava flows.

Weather in the Highlands: Climate

The temperature in Ethiopia is mostly affected by how high up a place is and how far it is from the equator. Even though Ethiopia is close to the equator (where it's usually very hot), the high altitude of the highlands gives them a milder, more temperate climate.

These mountains also catch the rain from the monsoon winds that blow from the Indian Ocean. This causes a rainy season that lasts from June to mid-September. These heavy rains are why the Nile River floods in the summer. This flooding used to puzzle the ancient Greeks, because summer was the driest time in their own Mediterranean climate. The main climate in the Ethiopian Highlands is an Alpine climate, which means it's cool and sometimes cold, similar to high mountain areas elsewhere.

Nature's Home: Ecology

Ethiopian Highlands with Ras Dashan in the background

The plants and animals in the Ethiopian Highlands are similar to those found in other mountain regions of Africa. This unique collection of life is called Afromontane. However, since the last ice age, some plants from Europe and Asia have also made their home here. The habitats are a bit different on each side of the Great Rift Valley, which divides the highlands.

Lower Elevations

At lower heights, the highlands are surrounded by tropical savannas and grasslands. This includes the dry Sahelian Acacia savanna to the northwest and the East Sudanian savanna to the west.

Gestet forest

The highlands themselves have three different natural areas, based on how high they are. The Ethiopian montane forests are found between 1,100 and 1,800 meters (about 3,600 to 5,900 feet) high. These forests are above the lowland grasslands and savannas. They also extend into parts of Eritrea, Sudan, and Djibouti. This forest belt once had many different plant types, but much of it has been used for farming or grazing animals.

• Kolla is an open woodland found at lower elevations. It has trees like Terminalia, Commiphora, Boswellia, and Acacia.
• Weyna dega is a woodland in wetter, higher places. It has conifer trees like Afrocarpus gracilior and Juniperus procera.
• The lower part of the Harenna Forest is a special woodland. It has an open roof of trees like Warburgia ugandensis, Croton macrostachyus, Syzygium guineense, and Afrocarpus gracilior. Wild coffee (Coffea arabica) grows as the main shrub underneath. Winds from the southwest bring rain from May to October, and moisture from the Red Sea comes from the east all year.

Animals living at these lower heights include the Harwood's spurfowl (Pternistis harwoodi), Prince Ruspoli's turaco (Tauraco ruspolii), and yellow-throated seedeater (Serinus flavigula). These birds are found only in this region.

Middle Elevations

The Ethiopian montane grasslands and woodlands are the largest highland natural area. They cover the land between 1,800 and 3,000 meters (about 5,900 to 9,800 feet) high. Naturally, this area had thick forests in wet places and grasslands or bushes in drier spots. However, these hillsides have rich soil and many people live here, mostly farmers. So, most of this region has been turned into farmland, with only a few natural areas left.

Many cities are in this area, including:

• Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital and Africa's fourth-largest city.
• Bahir Dar, the capital of the Amhara Region, with its island monasteries on Lake Tana.
• The old walled city of Harar.
• The spa town of Ambo.
• Asella in the Arsi Zone.
• Dodola, a place for hiking.
• The lakeside town of Bishoftu.
• Jimma, the largest city in the southwest.
• Nekemte, a market town.
• Mek'ele, the capital of the Tigray Region.

Awash National Park is a great place for birdwatching.

The remaining woodlands in drier areas have many unique plants. They mostly have conifer trees like Afrocarpus falcatus and Juniperus procera. Often, they also have broad-leaved trees like Hagenia abyssinica. In the Harenna Forest, there are patches of moist, thick forest with Aningeria and Olea trees covered in climbing plants and plants that grow on other plants. Above 2,400 meters (about 7,900 feet), a bushy area is home to Hagenia, Astropanax, and giant lobelias (Lobelia gibberroa). These plants can also be found on the East African mountains further south. The evergreen broad-leaved forest of the Semien Mountains, between 2,300 and 2,700 meters (about 7,500 to 8,900 feet), is mostly made up of Syzygium guineense, Arundinarial, Juniperus procera, and Olea africana.

High Elevations

Above 3,000 meters (about 9,800 feet) high are the Ethiopian montane moorlands. This is the largest high-altitude area in Africa. These moorlands are above the tree line. They have grasslands and open moorland with many herbs and some shrubs that have adapted to the tough mountain conditions. In Ethiopia, these high-altitude plants are found in the Highlands of Semien and Bale.

Amazing Animals: Fauna

These mountain slopes are home to many unique animals. Some are found nowhere else in the world!

Endangered and Unique Animals

• The endangered walia ibex (Capra walie) is a wild goat with huge horns.
• The gelada baboon has thick fur that helps it live in the cool mountain climate.
• These two species are only found on the northern side of the Rift Valley.
• Another rare animal, the mountain nyala (Tragelaphus buxtoni), lives only on the southern side. It now lives at higher altitudes because its original lower habitats are used for farming.
• The Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis) is critically endangered. It's one of the rarest canids (dog-like animals) in the world.
• The big-headed mole-rat (Tachyoryctes macrocephalus) is common on the Sanetti Plateau in the Bale Mountains.

Other Animals of the Highlands

More common mammals found here include:

• The mantled guereza (Colobus guereza), a type of monkey.
• The olive baboon (Papio anubis).
• The Egyptian wolf (Canis aureus).
• The leopard (Panthera pardus).
• The lion (Panthera leo).
• The spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta).
• The caracal (Caracal caracal).
• The serval (Leptailurus serval).
• The common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia).
• The giant forest hog (Hylochoerus meinertzhageni).

Birds and Insects

Birds found here include:

• Rueppell's chat.
• The finch Ankober serin (Serinus ankoberensis).
• White-winged flufftail (Sarothrura ayresi).
• Blue-winged goose.
• Wintering birds like wigeon (Anas penelope), shoveler (Anas clypeata), ruff (Philomachus pugnax), and greenshank (Tringa nebularia).
• Other birds like eagle, secretarybird, and marabou stork.

The farmlands are home to many butterflies, especially types like Papilio, Charaxinae, Pieridae, and Lycaenidae.

More Unique Animals

Other animals in the area include:

• Aardvark.
• Nubian ibex.
• The Harenna shrew (Crocidura harenna).
• The narrow-footed woodland mouse (Grammomys minnae).
• Menelik's bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus meneliki), a subspecies with long, dark fur.

Protected Areas

Since the lower slopes of the mountains have so many people, even the high moorlands are affected by human activities like grazing livestock and farming. There are two protected areas of high moorland:

• Bale Mountains National Park in the southern highlands, which you can reach from Dinsho.
• Simien Mountains National Park, which you can reach from Gondar, and includes Ras Dashen.

However, even these parks are losing natural habitat due to livestock grazing. Parks at lower elevations, like Harar Wildlife Sanctuary, Awash National Park, Omo National Park, and Nechisar National Park, are even less secure.

See also

• Geography of Ethiopia
• Wildlife of Ethiopia
• The Great Rift Valley
• Australopithecus