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Rift Valley Lakes
The Rift Valley lakes are a series of lakes in the East African Rift valley that runs through eastern Africa from Ethiopia in the north to Malawi in the south, and includes the African Great Lakes in the south. These include some of the world's oldest lakes, deepest lakes, largest lakes by area, and largest lakes by volume. Many are freshwater ecoregions of great biodiversity, while others are alkaline "soda lakes" supporting highly specialised organisms. The Rift Valley lakes are well known for the evolution of at least 800 cichlid fish species that live in their waters. More species are expected to be discovered. The World Wide Fund for Nature has designated these lakes as one of its Global 200 priority ecoregions for conservation. Geology Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika have formed in the various valleys of the East African Rift zone. Ecology Lake Kivu's "still waters ... hide another face: dissolved within are billions of cubic meters of flammable methane and more stil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greater Flamingo
The greater flamingo (''Phoenicopterus roseus'') is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. It is found in Africa, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and in southern Europe. Taxonomy The greater flamingo was described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1811. It was previously thought to be the same species as the American flamingo (''Phoenicopterus ruber''), but because of coloring differences of its head, neck, body, and bill, the two flamingos are now most commonly considered separate species. The greater flamingo has no subspecies. Description The greater flamingo is the largest living species of flamingo, averaging tall and weighing . The largest male flamingos have been recorded at up to tall and . Most of the plumage is pinkish-white, but the wing coverts are red and the primary and secondary flight feathers are black. The bill is pink with a restricted black tip, and the legs are entirely pink. The call is a goose-like honking. Chicks are covere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Global 200
The Global 200 is the list of ecoregions identified by the World Wide Fund for Nature ( WWF), the global conservation organization, as priorities for conservation. According to WWF, an ecoregion is defined as a "relatively large unit of land or water containing a characteristic set of natural communities that share a large majority of their species dynamics, and environmental conditions". For example, based on their levels of endemism, Madagascar gets multiple listings, ancient Lake Baikal gets one, and the North American Great Lakes get none. The WWF assigns a conservation status to each ecoregion in the Global 200: critical or endangered; vulnerable; and relatively stable or intact. Over half of the ecoregions in the Global 200 are rated endangered. Background The WWF has identified 867 terrestrial ecoregions across the Earth's land surface, as well as freshwater and marine ecoregions. The goal of this classification system is to ensure that the full range of ecosystems wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Koka Reservoir
The Koka Reservoir ( om, Haroo Qooqaa) is a reservoir in south-central Ethiopia. It was created by the construction of the Koka Dam across the Awash River. The reservoir has an area of 180 square kilometers. Geography Located in the East(Baha) Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region, close to the capital and largest city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, the Koka Reservoir is popular with tourists and city-dwellers. There is a variety of wildlife and birds around the lake. The reservoir supports a fishing industry; according to the Ethiopian Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, 625 tonnes of fish are landed each year, which the department estimates is either 52% or 89% of its sustainable amount. Both the reservoir and the dam are threatened by increasing sedimentation caused by environmental degradation as well as the invasive water hyacinth. Architecture The Koka dam consists of concrete with a length of 458 meters and a maximum height of 47 meters. The head utilized is 32–42 meters. The t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Shala
Lake Shala (also spelled Shalla) is an alkaline lake located in the Ethiopian Rift Valley, in the Abijatta-Shalla National Park. Overview The lake is 28 kilometers long and 12 wide,''Statistical Abstract of Ethiopia for 1967/68'' with a surface area of 329 square kilometers.Baxter, R. M. "Lake Morphology and Chemistry", in Taylor, W.D. and Tudorancea, C., eds. ''Ethiopian Rift Valley Lakes'' (Leiden: Backhuys Publishers, 2002) It has a maximum depth of 266 meters and is at an elevation of 1,558 meters. As such, it is the deepest of Ethiopia's Rift Valley lakes. Known for the sulphur springs on the lake bed, its islands are inhabited by great white pelicans, one being known as Pelican Island. Lake Shala is surrounded by hot springs filled with boiling water, and the earth surrounding the lake is filled with cracks due to erosion and earthquakes. Due to steam rising from the boiling water in the springs, the atmosphere around the lake is relatively foggy. At the southern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Zway
Hora-Dambal also known as Lake Zway or Dambal ( Oromo: ''Hora Dambal'', Amharic: ዟይ ሐይቅ) is one of the freshwater Rift Valley lakes of Ethiopia. It is located about 100 miles south of Addis Ababa, on the border between the Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region; the woredas holding the lake's shoreline are Adami Tullu Jido Kombolcha, Dugda, and Batu town. The town of Batu lies on the lake's western shore. The lake is fed primarily by two rivers, the Meki from the west and the Katar from the east, and is drained by the Bulbula which empties into Lake Abijatta. The lake's catchment has an area of 7025 square kilometers. Hora-Dambal is 31 kilometers long and 20 km wide, with a surface area of 440 square kilometers. It has a maximum depth of 9 meters and is at an elevation of 1,636 meters. According to the ''Statistical Abstract of Ethiopia for 1967/68'', Lake Ziway is 25 kilometers long and 20 km wide, with a surface area of 434 squ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Chamo
Lake Chamo (Amharic: ቻሞ ሐይቅ) is a lake in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of southern Ethiopia. Located in the Main Ethiopian Rift, it is at an elevation of 1,110 meters. The Chamo lake is just to the south of Lake Abaya and the city of Arba Minch, east of the Guge Mountains, and west of the Amaro Mountains. Overview Lake Chamo northern end lies in the Nechisar National Park. According to figures published by the Central Statistical Agency, it is 32 kilometers long and 13 wide, with a surface area of 317 square kilometers and a maximum depth of 14 meters with a catchment of about 18757 square kilometers in size. Other sources locate it on an elevation of 1,235 meters with a length of 26 km a widths of 22 km an area of 551 square kilometers a catchment of 2220 square kilometers and a maximum depth of 10 meters. The lake is fringed with beds of '' Typha'', as well as wetlands. It is fed by the Kulfo River and several small streams, as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Abaya
Lake Abaya ( Amharic: አባያ ሐይቅ) is a lake in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region The Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (often abbreviated as SNNPR; am, የደቡብ ብሔር ብሔረሰቦችና ሕዝቦች ክልል, Yädäbub Bḥer Bḥeräsäbočna Hzboč Kllə) is a regional state in southwestern ... of Ethiopia. It is located in the Main Ethiopian Rift, east of the Guge Mountains. The town of Arba Minch lies on its southwestern shore, and the southern shores are part of the Nechisar National Park. Just to the south is Lake Chamo. Savanna, known for its wildlife and birdlife, surrounds the lake, which is also fished by local people. According to the Ethiopian Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, 412 tonnes of fish are landed each year, which the department estimates is 69% of its sustainable amount. Lake Abaya is 60 kilometers long and 20 wide, with a surface area of 1162 square kilometers.Baxter, R. M. ''Lake M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limnological
Limnology ( ; from Greek λίμνη, ''limne'', "lake" and λόγος, ''logos'', "knowledge") is the study of inland aquatic ecosystems. The study of limnology includes aspects of the biological, chemical, physical, and geological characteristics of fresh and saline, natural and man-made bodies of water. This includes the study of lakes, reservoirs, ponds, rivers, springs, streams, wetlands, and groundwater.Wetzel, R.G. 2001. Limnology: Lake and River Ecosystems, 3rd ed. Academic Press () Water systems are often categorized as either running (lotic) or standing (lentic). Limnology includes the study of the drainage basin, movement of water through the basin and biogeochemical changes that occur en route. A more recent sub-discipline of limnology, termed landscape limnology, studies, manages, and seeks to conserve these ecosystems using a landscape perspective, by explicitly examining connections between an aquatic ecosystem and its drainage basin. Recently, the need to understan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alkalinity
Alkalinity (from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is the capacity of water to resist acidification. It should not be confused with basicity, which is an absolute measurement on the pH scale. Alkalinity is the strength of a buffer solution composed of weak acids and their conjugate bases. It is measured by titrating the solution with an acid such as HCl until its pH changes abruptly, or it reaches a known endpoint where that happens. Alkalinity is expressed in units of concentration, such as meq/L (milliequivalents per liter), μeq/kg (microequivalents per kilogram), or mg/L CaCO3 (milligrams per liter of calcium carbonate). Each of these measurements corresponds to an amount of acid added as a titrant. Although alkalinity is primarily a term used by oceanographers, it is also used by hydrologists to describe temporary hardness. Moreover, measuring alkalinity is important in determining a stream's ability to neutralize acidic pollution from rainfal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethiopian Highlands
The Ethiopian Highlands 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 , while the summits reach heights of up to . It is sometimes called the Roof of Africa due to its height and large area. Most of the Ethiopian Highlands are part of central and northern Ethiopia, and its northernmost portion reaches into Eritrea. History In the southern parts of the Ethiopian Highlands once was located the Kingdom of Kaffa, a medieval 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 ar, قهوة, italic=no ()''Oxford English Dictionary'', 1st ed. "coffee, ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1891. and is traced to Kaffa. Physical geography The Highl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Main Ethiopian Rift
Main may refer to: Geography * Main River (other) **Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries *'' The Main'', the diverse core running through Montreal, Quebec, Canada, also separating the Two Solitudes * Main (lunar crater), located near the north pole of the Moon * Main (Martian crater) People and organisations * Main (surname), a list of people with this family name *Ma'in, alternate spelling for the Minaeans, an ancient people of modern-day Yemen * Main (band), a British ambient band formed in 1991 * Chas. T. Main, an American engineering and hydroelectric company founded in 1893 *MAIN (Mountain Area Information Network), former operator of WPVM-LP (MAIN-FM) in Asheville, North Carolina, U.S. Ships * ''Main'' (ship), an iron sailing ship launched in 1884 * SS ''Main'', list of steamships with this name * ''Main'' (A515), a m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethiopian Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia, (or Main Ethiopian Rift or Ethiopian Rift Valley) is a branch of the East African Rift that runs through Ethiopia in a southwest direction from the Afar Triple Junction. In the past, it was seen as part of a "Great Rift Valley" that ran from Mozambique to Syria. Description The Great Rift Valley lies between the Ethiopian Plateau to the north and the Somalia Plateau to the south. The rift developed as the Nubian and Somali plates began to separate during the Miocene Period along the East African rift system. Rift initiation was asynchronous along the Ethiopian rift valley: deformation began around 18 million years ago at the south end, around 11 million years ago close to the Afar depression and probably around 6-8 million years ago in the central sector. The rift is extending in an ESE-WNW direction at about annually. The Ethiopian rift valley is about wide and bordered on both margins by large, discontinuous normal faults that give rise to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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