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Ethiopian Xeric Grasslands And Shrublands
The Ethiopian xeric grasslands and shrublands ecoregion is a semi-desert strip on or near the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden coasts in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somaliland. This ecoregion lies mainly between sea level and 800 meters (m) elevation. There are, however, many hills and massifs, which range up to 1300 m as well as outstanding fault-induced depressions, such as the Danakil, lying as low as 155 m below sea level. This region is extremely active tectonically, experiencing many earthquakes and intermittently active volcanoes. Rainfall is very low and yearly averages range from 100 to 200 millimeters (mm), with less rain falling closer to the coast. There are many species of interest, including the endemic Archer's lark (''Heteromirafra archeri''), a species of dragon tree ('' Dracaena ombet''), and a large suite of desert ungulates, including the last viable population of African wild ass (''Equus africanus somalicus''). Location and description This ecoregion extends ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Awash River
The Awash (sometimes spelled Awaash; Oromo: ''Awaash'', Amharic: አዋሽ, Afar: ''We'ayot'', Somali: ''Webiga Dir'') is a major river of Ethiopia. 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 Abbe (or Abhe Bad) on the border with Djibouti, some 100 kilometres (60 or 70 miles) from the head of the Gulf of Tadjoura. It is the principal stream of an endorheic drainage basin covering parts of the Amhara, Oromia and Somali Regions, as well as the southern half of the Afar Region. The Awash Valley (and especially the Middle Awash) is internationally famous for its high density of hominin fossils, offering unparalleled insight into the early evolution of humans. "Lucy", one of the most famous early hominin fossils, was discovered in the lower Awash Valley. For its paleontological and anthropological importance, the lower valley of the Awash was inscribed on the UN ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archer's Lark
Archer's lark (''Heteromirafra archeri''), also known as the Liben lark, is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in Somalia, Somaliland and Ethiopia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss. The bird's common name and binomial commemorate the British explorer and colonial official Sir Geoffrey Francis Archer. Taxonomy and systematics Formerly, the Liben lark has been considered by some authorities as belonging to the genus ''Mirafra''. The Sidamo lark was previously considered as a separate species (as ''H. sidamoensis'') and by some authorities as a subspecies of Liben lark (as ''H. a. sidamoensis''), but since 2014 has been considered conspecific with the Liben lark. Note that the alternate names "long-clawed lark" and "Sidamo lark" are also used as alternate names by Rudd's lark and Degodi lark respectively. Some authorities have also considered Archer's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balanites Aegyptiaca
''Balanites aegyptiaca'' (also known as the Egyptian balsam) is a species of tree, classified as a member of either the Zygophyllaceae or the Balanitaceae. This tree is native to much of Africa and parts of the Middle East. There are many common names for this plant. In English the fruit has been called desert date, soap berry tree or bush, Thron tree, Egyptian myrobalan, Egyptian balsam or Zachum oil tree; in Arabic it is known as ''lalob'', ''hidjihi'', ''inteishit'', and ''heglig'' (''hijlij''). In Jieng it is called ''Thou or thau'', in Hausa it is called ''aduwa,'' in Tamasheq, the Tuareg language ''taboraq'', in Fulfulde (Pulaar) ''Murtooki'' or ''Tanni'', in Swahili ''mchunju'', in Kamba ''Kilului'' and in Amharic ''bedena''. Distribution ''Balanites aegyptiaca'' is found in Northern Eastern Africa, Egypt, and also the Sahel-Savannah region across Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It can be found in many kinds of habitat, tolerating a wide variety of soil types, from s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vachellia Nubica
''Vachellia nubica'' is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae. Botanical description It is a somewhat obconical shrub which grows up to about 5 metres high. The branches often radiate from the base in all directions. The branchlets tend to be straight and are grey-white, with grey-white spines with brown tips, 0.5 to 1.5 cm long. The pinnae are in 3 to 12 pairs, with leaflets in 5 to 15 pairs, about 0.3 cm long. The flowers are off-white in globose heads, and are very fragrant Pods are 5 to 10 cm long, 1.25 cm broad and pale yellow, pointed at both ends. The seeds are olive-green, with five to ten in a pod. It has an offensive smell when bruised or cut. Distribution ''Vachellia nubica'' occurs mainly on alluvial silt soils. It is found in north-east Africa from Egypt to Kenya, and also in Iraq and Iran. Uses It is an important browse shrub in the drier parts of Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vachellia Tortilis
''Vachellia tortilis'', widely known as ''Acacia tortilis'' but now attributed to the genus ''Vachellia'', is the umbrella thorn acacia, also known as ''umbrella thorn'' and Israeli babool, a medium to large canopied tree native to most of Africa, primarily to the savanna and Sahel of Africa (especially the Somali peninsula and Sudan), but also occurring in the Middle East. Distribution and growing conditions ''Vachellia tortilis'' is widespread in Africa, being found in countries like Tunisa, Morocco, Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, Djibouti, and Botswana. It tends to grow in areas where temperatures vary from and rainfall is anywhere from about per year. Characteristics In extremely arid conditions, it may occur as a small, wiry bush. It grows up to in height. The tree carries leaves that grow to approx. in length with between 4 and 10 pair of pinnae each with up to 15 pairs of leaflets. Flowers are small and white, highly aromatic, and occur in tight clusters. Seeds a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Temperature
Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied on various reference points and thermometric substances for definition. The most common scales are the Celsius scale with the unit symbol °C (formerly called ''centigrade''), the Fahrenheit scale (°F), and the Kelvin scale (K), the latter being used predominantly for scientific purposes. The kelvin is one of the seven base units in the International System of Units (SI). Absolute zero, i.e., zero kelvin or −273.15 °C, is the lowest point in the thermodynamic temperature scale. Experimentally, it can be approached very closely but not actually reached, as recognized in the third law of thermodynamics. It would be impossible to extract energy as heat from a body at that temperature. Temperature is important in all fields of natur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rainfall
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water for hydroelectric power plants, crop irrigation, and suitable conditions for many types of ecosystems. The major cause of rain production is moisture moving along three-dimensional zones of temperature and moisture contrasts known as weather fronts. If enough moisture and upward motion is present, precipitation falls from convective clouds (those with strong upward vertical motion) such as cumulonimbus (thunder clouds) which can organize into narrow rainbands. In mountainous areas, heavy precipitation is possible where upslope flow is maximized within windward sides of the terrain at elevation which forces moist air to condense and fall out as rainfall along the sides of mountains. On the leeward side of mountains, desert climates can exi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Climate
Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorological variables that are commonly measured are temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, and precipitation. In a broader sense, climate is the state of the components of the climate system, including the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere and biosphere and the interactions between them. The climate of a location is affected by its latitude/longitude, terrain, altitude, land use and nearby water bodies and their currents. Climates can be classified according to the average and typical variables, most commonly temperature and precipitation. The most widely used classification scheme was the Köppen climate classification. The Thornthwaite system, in use since 1948, incorporates evapotranspiration along with temperature ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former term specifically to displaced soil. Soil consists of a solid phase of minerals and organic matter (the soil matrix), as well as a porous phase that holds gases (the soil atmosphere) and water (the soil solution). Accordingly, soil is a three-state system of solids, liquids, and gases. Soil is a product of several factors: the influence of climate, relief (elevation, orientation, and slope of terrain), organisms, and the soil's parent materials (original minerals) interacting over time. It continually undergoes development by way of numerous physical, chemical and biological processes, which include weathering with associated erosion. Given its complexity and strong internal connectedness, soil ecologists regard soil as an ecosystem. Most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lac Assal
Lake Assal ( ar, بحيرة عسل , lit. “Honey Lake”) is a crater lake in central-western Djibouti. It is located at the western end of Gulf of Tadjoura between Arta Region, and Tadjoura Region, touching Dikhil Region, at the top of the Great Rift Valley, some west of Djibouti city. Lake Assal is a saline lake that lies below sea level in the Afar Triangle, making it the lowest point on land in Africa and the third-lowest point on Earth after the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. No outflow occurs from the lake, and due to high evaporation, the salinity level of its waters is 10 times that of the sea, making it the third most saline body of water in the world behind Don Juan Pond and Gaet'ale Pond. The salt in the lake is exploited under four concessions awarded in 2002 at the southeast end of the lake; the major share of production (nearly 80%) is held by Société d’Exploitation du Lac and Société d’Exploitation du Salt Investment S.A de Djibouti. The lake is a p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethiopian Montane Forests
The Ethiopian montane forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in eastern Africa. It covers the middle elevations of the Ethiopian Highlands in Ethiopia and extends into neighboring Eritrea, Sudan, Djibouti, and Somaliland. The ecoregion includes distinctive Afromontane forests, woodlands, grasslands, and shrublands. The ecoregion's biodiversity is threatened by deforestation, conversion to agriculture, and overgrazing. Geography The Ethiopian montane forests lie between 1,100 and 1,800 meters elevation. They extend throughout the middle elevations of the Ethiopian Highlands, which are mostly in Ethiopia and reach into neighboring Eritrea and Somaliland. The ecoregion also includes several outlying mountains, including Jebel Elba, Jebel Hadai Aweb, and Jebel Ower in eastern Sudan, and the Goda and Mabla mountains in Djibouti. The montane forests are bounded at lower elevations by tropical grasslands and savannas on the west and southwest, and deserts and dry shrubl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
