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Ethiopian Highlands

Coordinates: 12°32′00″N 41°23′8″E / 12.53333°N 41.38556°E / 12.53333; 41.38556
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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
Elevation4,550 m (14,930 ft)
Geography
Topographic map
LocationEthiopia - Eritra
Geology
Rock age75 million years
Mountain typeMountain range

The Ethiopian Highlands (also called the Abyssinian Highlands)[1][2] is a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia in Northeast Africa. It forms the largest continuous area of its elevation in the continent, with little of its surface falling below 1,500 m (4,900 ft), while the summits reach heights of up to 4,550 m (14,930 ft). It is sometimes called the "Roof of Africa" due to its height and large area.[3] It is the only country in the region with such a high elevated surface. This elevated surface is bisected diagonally by the Great East African Rift System which extends from Syria to Mozambique across the East African Lakes. Most of the Ethiopian Highlands are part of central and northern Ethiopia, with the Eritrean Highlands as its' northernmost portion. The Ethiopia-Yemen Continental Flood Basalts[4] are shared between the Horn of Africa and highlands of Upper Yemen along with the cultural, historical, and genetic ties of the two regions on opposite ends of the Red Sea.

History

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Main article: Amharas § Adaption to high-altitude environments
A coffee cup from the era of the Kaffa Kingdom

In the southern parts of the Ethiopian Highlands once was located the Kingdom of Kaffa, a medieval and early modern state, whence the coffee plant was exported to the Arabian Peninsula. The land of the former kingdom is mountainous with stretches of forest. The land is very fertile, capable of three harvests a year. The term coffee derives from the Arabic: قهوة (qahwah)[5] and is traced to Kaffa.[5][6]

In the Amhara region to the north, genetic adaptation (e.g., rs10803083, an SNP associated with the rate and function of hemoglobin; BHLHE41, a gene associated with circadian rhythm and hypoxia response; EGNL1, a gene strongly associated with oxygen homeostasis in mammals) to hypoxia and low atmospheric pressure has been found among the Amhara people, which may have developed within the past 5000 years.[7]

Geography

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The Highlands are divided into northwestern and southeastern portions by the Main Ethiopian Rift, which contains a number of salt lakes. The northwestern portion is known as the Abyssinian Massif,[8] The southeastern portion is known as the Harar Massif.[8]

Geology

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Dendi Caldera, a collapsed volcano in the mountain region

The Ethiopian Highlands began to rise 75 million years ago,[9] as magma from the Earth's mantle uplifted a broad dome of the ancient rocks of the Arabian-Nubian Shield. The opening of the Great Rift Valley split the dome of the Ethiopian Highlands into three parts; the mountains of the southern Arabian Peninsula are geologically part of the ancient Ethiopian Highlands, separated by the rifting which created the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and separated Africa from Arabia.

Around 30 million years ago, a flood basalt plateau began to form, piling layers upon layers of voluminous fissure-fed basaltic lava flows. Most of the flows were tholeiitic, save for a thin layer of alkali basalts and minor amounts of felsic (high-silica) volcanic rocks, such as rhyolite. In the waning stages of the flood basalt episode, large explosive caldera-forming eruptions also occurred.

The Ethiopian Highlands were eventually bisected by the Great Rift Valley as the African continental crust pulled apart. This rifting gave rise to large alkaline basalt shield volcanoes beginning about 30–31 million years ago.[10]

The northern Ethiopian Highlands contain four discernible planation surfaces, the oldest one being formed not later than in the Ordovician Period.[4] The youngest surface formed in the Cenozoic, being partly covered by the Ethiopia-Yemen Continental Flood Basalts.[4] Contrary to what has been suggested for much of Africa, planation surfaces in northern Ethiopia do not appear to be pediplains nor etchplains.[4]

Climate

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Main article: Climate of Ethiopia

Spatial distribution of temperature in Ethiopia is determined primarily by altitude and latitude. Altitude is the main factor that determines the spatial distribution of temperature in Ethiopia. Ethiopia lies within the tropics, a zone of maximum insolation, where every place has overhead sun twice a year. However, considerable portions of Ethiopia are highland areas, and their altitudes give them non-tropical temperatures. Ethiopia's tropical climate occur in lowlands at the country's peripheries. The predominant climate of the Ethiopian Highlands is the Alpine climate.

Because the highlands elevate Ethiopia, located close to the equator, this has resulted in giving this country an unexpectedly temperate climate. Further, these mountains catch the precipitation of the monsoon winds of the Indian Ocean, resulting in a rainy season that lasts from June until mid-September.[11] These heavy rains cause the Nile to flood in the summer, a phenomenon that puzzled the ancient Greeks, as the summer is the driest season in the Mediterranean climate that they knew.

Ecology

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Ethiopian Highlands with Ras Dashan in the background

The Ethiopian Highlands share a similar flora and fauna to other mountainous regions of Africa; this distinctive flora and fauna is known as Afromontane, but from the time of the last ice age the region has been populated with some Eurasian (palearctic) flora. The habitats are somewhat different on either side of the Great Rift Valley which splits the highlands.

At lower elevations, the highlands are surrounded by tropical savannas and grasslands, including the Sahelian acacia savanna to the northwest and the East Sudanian savanna to the west.

Gestet forest

The highlands themselves are divided into three distinct ecoregions, distinguished by elevation. The Ethiopian montane forests lie between 1,100 and 1,800 meters elevation, above the lowland grasslands and savannas, and extend to areas of similar habitat in Eritrea, Sudan, and Djibouti. This woodland belt has several natural plant communities, but has mostly been heavily grazed and converted to agricultural use now. Kolla is an open woodland found at lower elevations, and is dominated by species of Terminalia, Commiphora, Boswellia, and Acacia. Weyna dega is a woodland found in moister and higher locations, dominated by the conifers Afrocarpus gracilior and Juniperus procera. The lower portion of the Harenna Forest is a distinct woodland community, with an open canopy of Warburgia ugandensis, Croton macrostachyus, Syzygium guineense, and Afrocarpus gracilior, with wild coffee (Coffea arabica) as the dominant understory shrub. The southwesterly winds bring rainfall from May to October with moisture from the Red Sea coming in from the east year round. Fauna at these elevations includes the endemic Harwood's spurfowl (Pternistis harwoodi), Prince Ruspoli's turaco (Tauraco ruspolii) and yellow-throated seedeater (Serinus flavigula)[12]

The Ethiopian montane grasslands and woodlands is the largest of the highland ecoregions, occupying the area between 1,800 and 3,000 meters elevation. The natural vegetation was closed-canopy forest in moister areas, and grassland, bushland, and thicket in drier areas. However these hillsides have good fertile soil and are heavily populated, largely by farming communities, so most of the region has been converted to agriculture with a few areas of natural vegetation remaining. Urban areas in this ecoregion include: Ethiopia's capital city and Africa's fourth largest city Addis Ababa, the Amhara Region capital Bahir Dar with its island monasteries on Lake Tana, the old walled city of Harar, the spa town of Ambo, Asella in the Arsi Zone, the trekking center of Dodola, the lakeside Bishoftu, the largest city in the southwest Jimma, the market town of Nekemte, and the capital of the Tigray Region, Mek'ele. Awash National Park is a site for birdwatching.

Remaining woodland in the drier areas contains much endemic flora and primarily consists of the conifers Afrocarpus falcatus and Juniperus procera, often with the broadleaved Hagenia abyssinica. In the Harenna Forest, pockets of moist, closed-canopy forest with Aningeria and Olea are draped with lianas and epiphytes, while above 2,400 meters, a shrubby zone is home to Hagenia, Astropanax, and giant lobelias (Lobelia gibberroa), species which can be found on the East African mountains further south. The evergreen broadleaved forest of the Semien Mountains, between 2,300 and 2,700 meters elevation, is dominated by Syzygium guineense, Arundinarial, Juniperus procera, and Olea africana.

As the lower slopes of the mountains are so heavily populated, even the high altitude moorlands are affected by human interference, such as the grazing of livestock and even farming. There are two protected areas of high moorland: Bale Mountains National Park in the southern highlands, accessible from Dinsho; and Simien Mountains National Park, accessible from Gondar, which includes Ras Dashen. However, even these parks are losing habitat to livestock grazing, while the lower elevation parks (Harar Wildlife Sanctuary, Awash National Park, Omo National Park, and Nechisar National Park) are even less secure.

Above 3,000 meters elevation lie the high Ethiopian montane moorlands, the largest Afroalpine region in Africa. The montane moorlands lie above the tree line, and consist of grassland and moorland with abundant herbs and some shrubs that have adapted to the high mountain conditions. In Ethiopia, Afroalpine and Sub-Afroalpine vegetations are found in the Highlands of Semein and Highlands of Bale.

Fauna

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These slopes are home to a number of endemic wildlife species, including the endangered walia ibex (Capra walie) and the gelada baboon, whose thick fur allows it to thrive in the cooler climates of the mountains. These two species are only found on the northern side of the valley, while another rare endemic species, the mountain nyala (Tragelaphus buxtoni), is restricted to the southern side, and now survives at higher altitudes than its original habitat since the lower slopes are heavily farmed. More widespread mammals found here include the mantled guereza (Colobus guereza), which is also threatened as its habitat disappears as does that of many other mammals of the highlands such as olive baboon (Papio anubis), Egyptian wolf (Canis lupaster), leopard (Panthera pardus), lion (Panthera leo), spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), caracal (Caracal caracal), serval (Leptailurus serval), common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia), and giant forest hog (Hylochoerus meinertzhageni). Birds include Rueppell's chat, the finch Ankober serin (Serinus ankoberensis), white-winged flufftail (Sarothrura ayresi), and blue-winged goose. The farmland is home to many butterflies, especially Papilio, Charaxinae, Pieridae, and Lycaenidae.

There are several endemic animal species, one of which, the Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis), is critically endangered. Other endemics include the big-headed mole-rat (Tachyoryctes macrocephalus) which is common on the Sanetti Plateau in the Bale Mountains. The mountain nyala finds its way up to the high moorlands although it is more common at lower elevations. Wintering birds include wigeon (Anas penelope), shoveler (Anas clypeata), ruff (Philomachus pugnax), and greenshank (Tringa nebularia).

Other fauna in the area also includes aardvark, eagle, Egyptian wolf, secretarybird, Nubian ibex, and marabou stork and Ethiopian endemic species such as the shrew (Crocidura harenna), the narrow-footed woodland mouse (Grammomys minnae), and Menelik's bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus meneliki), which is a subspecies with long, dark fur.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Overview About Ethiopia". Embassy of Ethiopia in the UK. 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  2. ^ Cheesman, R. E. (1936-01-01). "The highlands of Abyssinia". Scottish Geographical Magazine. 52 (1): 1–12. doi:10.1080/00369223608735002. ISSN 0036-9225.
  3. ^ Paul B. Henze, Layers of Time (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p. 2.
  4. ^ a b c d Coltorti, M.; Dramis, F.; Ollier, C.D. (2007). "Planation surfaces in Northern Ethiopia". Geomorphology. 89 (3–4): 287–296. Bibcode:2007Geomo..89..287C. doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2006.12.007.
  5. ^ a b Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed. "coffee, n." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1891.
  6. ^ Weinberg, Bennett Alan; Bealer, Bonnie K. (2001). The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World's Most Popular Drug. New York: Routledge. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-415-92722-2. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  7. ^ Pfennig, Aaron; et al. (29 March 2023). "Evolutionary Genetics and Admixture in African Populations". Genome Biology and Evolution. 15 (4): evad054. doi:10.1093/gbe/evad054. OCLC 9817135458. PMC 10118306. PMID 36987563. S2CID 257803764.
  8. ^ a b Mairal, M., Sanmartín, I., Herrero, A. et al. Geographic barriers and Pleistocene climate change shaped patterns of genetic variation in the Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot. Sci Rep 7, 45749 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep45749
  9. ^ "Africa: Physical Geography | National Geographic Society". www.nationalgeographic.org. Archived from the original on 2022-03-24. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  10. ^ January 2005: The Ethiopian Large Igneous Province
  11. ^ An explanation of this unusual rain pattern can be found at Ethiopia: Drought intensifies during corn and sorghum harvest (ReliefWeb)
  12. ^ "Eastern Africa: Ethiopia, extending into Eritrea, | Ecoregions | WWF".
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12°32′00″N 41°23′8″E / 12.53333°N 41.38556°E / 12.53333; 41.38556

  1. ^ "Ethiopian Plateau | Map, Mountains, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
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