Ethiopian Rift Valley lakes Part 43
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The Ethiopian Rift Valley and the Rift Valley Lakes
The Great Rift Valley stretches for over 9,600kms form Turkey to Mozambique. In east Africa this crack has made a valley with a length of 6000 kms. The openings of the Great Rift Valley feature are recent phenomena even not older than 20 million years. This is the last massive movement of the earth to play significantly in shaping the landmass of the earth. Again this features, the volcanoes, natural hot springs and strongly elongated lakes in the Great Rift Valley are evidences in the earth’s crust that threaten eventually to split Africa apart. This split east Africa in to two arms. The valley passes through Ethiopia where its largest area lies. (It is about 2800kms long). In Ethiopia, the northern end of the valley opens in to the famous Dankill Depression 116 meters below sea level is one of the hottest places on the earth.
The volcanic floor is with an average width of 50 km and its maximum width is 90 km. The blue grey ridges of the volcanic basalt and granite either side, towering up to a height of 4000 meters. This volcanic floor encompasses some of the world's last true wildernesses.
The Great Rift Valley’s passage through Ethiopia is marked by a chain of seven lakes. Each of the seven lakes has its own special life and character and provides ideal habitats for the exuberant variety of flora and fauna that make the region a beautiful and exotic destination for tourists. These lakes are Lake Zeway, Shala, Abyata, Langano, Awassa, Chmao and Abaya. Most of the lakes are suitable and safe for swimming and other water sports. Lakes Abiata and Shalla are ideal places for bird watchers.
The northern most Lake is Lake Zeway on 160kms form Addis. Southwards from here three further lakes Abyata, Shalla & Langano are clustered closely together followed by Lake Awassa; much further south Lalke Abaya and Chamo.
Lake Langano has developed into an unsurpassed resort popular with weekend visitors form the capital. There are good camping facilities and excellent hotels and chalet bungalows situated along its bays, fronting sandy beaches perfect for swimming, sailing, water skiing and wind surfing. Lake Shalla the deepest lake of all lakes (260 meters deep) is the most important one for the breeding colony of the Great White Pelicans. Lake Abaya is the largest and longest in length (72km) provides well-stocked fishing grounds for these splendid birds and also excellent feeding place of Flamingos. Farming people populates the shores and islands of Abaya and Chamo. Lake Chamo forms one of Ethiopia's finest National Parks-Nech Sar. In the reed fringed bays of Chamo’s sparkling aquamarine waters hundreds of hippos emerge at night to graze on the grass shores. Lake Chamo is a sanctuary for hippopotamus, several thousand crocodiles and fish species.
Gazing on these lovely expanses of water body, one cannot help but speculate on the majesty that must once have been theirs when the great rains poured down over Africa.
The Rift Valley is also a site of numerous natural hot springs and the chemical contents of the hot springs are highly valued for their therapeutic purposes though at present they are not fully utilized. In short, the Rift Valley is endowed with many beautiful lakes, numerous hot springs, warm and pleasant climate and a variety of wildlife. It is considered as one of the most ideal areas for the development of international tourism in Ethiopia.
FISHING
Ethiopian lakes enable you relaxing sports for fishing. Nile perch, catfish, tilapia and tiger fish can be fished (caught in these lakes).
Ethiopia Tour 08 Addis Ababa to the Rift Valley
This is the eighth part of 10 of a tour of Ethiopia in October 2009. This part is the story of a visit to the Rift Valley south of Addis, its historic sites and many distinct lakes. It includes visits to lakes Awassa, Langano, Shala, Abiata, Ziway, Koka and Hora as well the crater lakes of Ara Shaitan and Aranguade Bahir. It also includes visit to the Tiya Stelae Field, a World Heritage Site, the prehistoric site of Melka Kunture and the rock-carved church of Adadi Maryam as well as the amazing fish market in Awassa.
Lake Hora, Ethiopia outside Addis Ababa
Check out Lake Hora, in a weekend resort area in Ethiopia outside Addis Ababa. This is a developing tourism area in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia, on the western border in an arc to the southwestern corner of the country, known for its lakes. Learn more about Ethiopia travel in Emmy-nominated host and travel writer Darley Newman's blog at
From DXB to Ethiopia
Rich in history, wildlife, and cultural traditions, it is said that Ethiopia deserves the aura and fame of Egypt.
Only the truly intrepid make this journey and experience a real sense of adventure and discovery. Southern Ethiopia is one of the last remaining places on earth that hasn't been touched by the modern world. Any trip here represents a unique chance to encounter a culture markedly different from our own.
Ethiopia - Karo tribe village visit
The Karo tribe is the smallest ethnic group (about 1000 people) in the Omo Valley of South-western Ethiopia. In the recent past Karo people killed disabled infants (Mingo) by drowning in the river. The Karo officially banned the practice from 2012.
Lake Tana, Ethiopia
Lake Tana (also spelled T'ana, Amharic: ጣና ሀይቅ, Ṭana Ḥäyq, T’ana Hāyk’; an older variant is Tsana, Ge'ez: ጻና Ṣānā; sometimes called Dembiya after the region to the north of the lake) is the source of the Blue Nile and is the largest lake in Ethiopia. Located in Amhara Region in the north-western Ethiopian Highlands, the lake is approximately 84 kilometres (52 miles) long and 66 kilometres (41 miles) wide, with a maximum depth of 15 metres (49 feet),[1] and an elevation of 1,788 metres (5,866 feet).[2] Lake Tana is fed by the Lesser Abay, Reb and Gumara rivers. Its surface area ranges from 3,000 to 3,500 square kilometres (1,200 to 1,400 square miles), depending on season and rainfall. The lake level has been regulated since the construction of the control weir where the lake discharges into the Blue Nile. This controls the flow to the Blue Nile Falls (Tis Abbai) and hydro-power station.
In 2015, the Lake Tana region was nominated as UNESCO Biosphere Reserve recognizing its national and international natural and cultural importance[3].
Lake Tana was formed by volcanic activity, blocking the course of inflowing rivers in the early Pleistocene epoch, about 5 million years ago.[4]
The lake was originally much larger than it is today. Seven large permanent rivers feed the lake as well as 40 small seasonal rivers. The main tributaries to the lake are Gilgel Abbay (Little Nile River), and the Megech, Gumara, and Rib rivers.[4]
A resort hotel on Lake Tana in Bahir Dar.
Lake Tana has a number of islands, whose number varies depending on the level of the lake. It has fallen about 6 feet (1.8 m) in the last 400 years. According to Manoel de Almeida (a Portuguese missionary in the early 17th century), there were 21 islands, seven to eight of which had monasteries on them formerly large, but now much diminished.[5] When James Bruce visited the area in the later 18th century, he noted that the locals counted 45 inhabited islands, but stated he believed that the number may be about eleven.[5] A 20th-century geographer named 37 islands, of which he believed 19 have or had monasteries or churches on them.[5]
Remains of ancient Ethiopian emperors and treasures of the Ethiopian Church are kept in the isolated island monasteries (including Kebran Gabriel, Ura Kidane Mehret, Narga Selassie, Daga Estifanos, Medhane Alem of Rema, Kota Maryam, and Mertola Maryam). On the island of Tana Qirqos is a rock shown to Paul B. Henze, on which he was told the Virgin Mary had rested on her journey back from Egypt; he was also told that Frumentius, who introduced Christianity to Ethiopia, is allegedly buried on Tana Cherqos.[6] The body of Yekuno Amlak is interred in the monastery of St. Stephen on Daga Island. Emperors whose tombs are also on Daga include Dawit I, Zara Yaqob, Za Dengel, and Fasilides. Other important islands in Lake Tana include Dek, Mitraha, Gelila Zakarias, Halimun and Briguida.
The monasteries are believed to have been built over earlier religious sites. They include the fourteenth-century Debre Maryam, and the eighteenth-century Narga Selassie, Tana Qirqos (said to have housed the Ark of the Covenant before it was moved to Axum), and Ura Kidane Mehret, known for its regalia. A ferry service links Bahir Dar with Gorgora via Dek Island and various lakeshore villages.
There is also Zege Peninsula on the southwest portion of the lake. Zege is the site of the Azwa Maryam monastery.
Fauna
Great white pelicans on Lake Tana.
Lily pads floating near the shore on Lake Tana
Since there are no inflows that link the lake to other large waterways and the main outflow, the Blue Nile, is obstructed by the Blue Nile Falls, the lake supports a highly distinctive fish fauna, which generally is related to species from the Nile Basin.[7]
About 70% of the fish species in the lake are endemic.[7] This includes one of only two known cyprinid species flocks (the other, from Lake Lanao in the Philippines, has been decimated by introduced species), which consists of fifteen relatively large, up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) long, Labeobarbus barbs.[7][8] Eight of these are piscivorous and an important prey is the small Barbus tanapelagius, another endemic of the lake. (B. humilis and B. pleurogramma also occur in Lake Tana, but neither is endemic.)[8][9] Other noteworthy endemic species are Afronemacheilus abyssinicus, which is one of only two African stone loaches, and the tana subspecies of the Nile tilapia.[7]
Lake Tana supports a large fishing industry, mainly based on the Labeobarbus barbs (formerly in genus Barbus), Nile tilapia and sharptooth catfish (a large catfish that is widespread in Africa). According to the Ethiopian Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, 1,454 tons of fish are landed each year at Bahir Dar, which the department estimates are 15% of its sustainable amount.[10]
Perry Lakes Park, Marion, AL July 2017
If you want to experience a swamp first hand, Perry Lakes is a great place to go for the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Bishoftu Debre Zeyit
Debre Zeyit (Oromo name of Bishoftu); on the Addis - Nazret road; an altitude of 1.900m; Lake Bishoftu - one of five Crater Lakes close to town - the alkaline lake; Natalija counts amharigna numbers: 1.and, 2.hulet, 3.sost, 4.arat, 5.amist, 6.sidist, 7.sabat, 8.simint, 9.zetegn, 10.asir, 11.asra and, 12.asra hulet...
BRIDGE to ETHIOPIA Tourism 2014: Lake Awassa, Ethiopia
Abel Berhane invites you to visit the many wonderful destinations in Ethiopia. Historical destinations such as Axum, Lalibela, Gondar or the Blue Nile Falls. Natural destinations like the many National Parks in Ethiopia, mountain scenery and of course cultural destinations where you can experience native culture in many cities and villages throughout Ethiopia. Contact admin@bridgetoethiopia.com or visit bridgetoethiopia.com for more details.
Lakes of Ethiopia
tourethiopias.com