The Arrei Mountains also known as the "Roof of Ali Sabieh", are a
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...
in the southern
Ali Sabieh Region
Ali Sabieh Region ( ar, إقليم على صبيح, so, Gobolka Cali Sabiix) is a region in southern Djibouti. With a mainland area of 2,400 square kilometres (900 sq mi), it lies along the national border with Somaliland and Ethiopia, bordering ...
in
Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
. With an average elevation of above sea level, the sixth highest point in
Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
, they are situated near the border with
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
. The mountains constitute the highest point in
Ali Sabieh
Ali Sabieh ( so, Cali Sabiix, ar, علي صبيح) is the second largest city in Djibouti. It is situated about Southwest of Djibouti City and north of the border with Ethiopia. It sprawls on a wide basin surrounded by granitic mountains on all ...
region. The
Issa Somali have a long history in the Arrei Mountains.
History
In 1915, the
Ethio-Djibouti Railway
The Ethio-Djibouti Railway (french: Chemin de Fer Djibouto-Éthiopien, C.D.E.; ) is a metre gauge railway in the Horn of Africa that once connected Addis Ababa to the port city of Djibouti. The operating company was also known as the Ethio-Djib ...
s traversed the local
Ali Sabieh
Ali Sabieh ( so, Cali Sabiix, ar, علي صبيح) is the second largest city in Djibouti. It is situated about Southwest of Djibouti City and north of the border with Ethiopia. It sprawls on a wide basin surrounded by granitic mountains on all ...
.
It is the main town in the region, and is located 7 km northwest. The area is predominantly inhabited by the
Issa Somali.
Fauna
A number of birds are found in the mountains including
Egyptian vulture
The Egyptian vulture (''Neophron percnopterus''), also called the white scavenger vulture or pharaoh's chicken, is a small Old World vulture and the only member of the genus ''Neophron''. It is widely distributed from the Iberian Peninsula and ...
. Other endemic species include a number of geckos and lizards.
Climate
Arrei Mountain's altitude and location and topography frequently lead to cool and
cloudy
In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may compo ...
weather conditions, which can pose a danger to ill-equipped walkers. The Arrei Mountains receives the bulk of its precipitation between the months of June and mid-September, averaging just under 269 mm of rainfall annually. The
fog
Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...
was present on the summit for almost 75% of the time between November and January, and 6% of the time in March and August. Arrei Mountains receives additional precipitation in the form of fog and summer rains.
References
Ârréï (Arrei)
{{Djibouti-geo-stub
Mountains of Djibouti