Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...

is an unrecognised

sovereign state A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a polity, political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defin ...

in the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

, internationally considered to be part of

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

.
Somaliland is located in the East African sub-continent between the equator and the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channe ...

. The country occupies an area of approximately . The climate is mostly hot and desertlike; it is largely

arid A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ar ...

with some

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

regions.

Land boundaries

To the north of

is the

, which borders Somaliland along its only of coastline. In its north-western corner, Somaliland shares a border with

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 ...

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 ...

borders the country to the west and to the south.

, which claims sovereignty over the territory of Somaliland, lies to the east.

Topography

Somaliland is occupied by three main topographic areas. In the north and northwest, along the Gulf of Aden, lie the coastal plains of the

Guban The Guban ( so, Guban, 'burnt' or 'burned') is the indigenous name for northwestern Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhū ...

region. The plains are a low region that are, on average, just 500 metres above sea level. The low altitude of the region makes it hot and dry, and it receives little rain throughout the year. The Guban contains the port cities of

Berbera Berbera (; so, Barbara, ar, بربرة) is the capital of the Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of the British Somaliland protectorate before Hargeisa. It ...

and Zeylac. The highlands are cool and wet area in the center of Somaliland that contain a series of mountain ranges. To the west are the

Golis Mountains The Golis Mountains are a mountain range in Somaliland. Also known as ''Qar Golis'', they cut through the Togdheer region, and end near the Gan Libah. Jerato Pass This range has a mountain pass known as the "Jerrato Pass". See also * Cal Ma ...

and to the east, the

Ogo Mountains The Ogo Mountains, also known as the Galgodon Highlands, (, ) are a mountain range in Somaliland. They cross the Sanaag and Togdheer regions. With a mean peak height of , the ecology of this landform is semi-desert. Ecology Due to the Ogo Mo ...

. The highest peak is found on

Mount Shimbiris Mount Shimbiris is the highest peak in Somaliland. It has an elevation of above sea level. It is located in the Al Madow mountain range in the Sanaag region. SRTM The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) is an international research effort ...

of the

Cal Madow Cal Madow (also Calmadow, Al Madow, Al Medu, or Al Mado; so, Buuraha Calmadow; ar, عَلَمْدُو, ʿAlamdū) is a mountain range in Somaliland. It stretches across an area between the east of Erigavo, Somaliland, to the Bari region of Soma ...

range, with a height of .

Borama Borama ( so, Boorama, ar, بورما) is the Second capital city of Somaliland and the largest city of the northwestern Awdal region of Somaliland The commercial seat of the province, it is situated near the border with Ethiopia. During the Mid ...

is one of the major cities located in the mountainous region. In the southeast, near the border with Somalia, is a low region of valleys. The valleys are hot and dry, and receive relatively small amounts of rain each year. The average elevation of the area is between 500 and 1000 metres above sea level. Notable cities in the area include Laascaanood,

Taleex Taleh ( so, Taleex, ar, تليح) is a historical town in the eastern Sool region of Somaliland. As of September 2015, both Puntland and Somaliland had nominal influence or control in Taleh and it's vicinity. The town served as the capital of ...

, and Xudun.

Somaliland Regions

The area of the regions of

is set out in the table below.

Climate

Somaliland lies north of the

Equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...

and has a dry climate, with most regions designated as

, with a few, smaller, areas as

. The temperatures in the highlands range from around . In the lower regions such as the valleys and coastal plains, the average temperatures are in the higher range of .
Most regions in Somaliland experience an average of per year. The primary rainy season is during the spring, with a secondary, more limited, season in late fall. Most of the annual rainfall is concentrated in the highland and plateaux regions of the country, which both receive an average of per year.
Somaliland experiences four seasons of climate. ''Gu'' (spring) is the longest wet season, and lasts from late March to early June. The increased rain at this time usually corresponds to abundant water and increased breeding of livestock. ''Xagaa'' (summer) is a dry windy season, that typically lasts from June through September. ''Deyr'' (fall) is the shorter rainy season which covers late September through November. ''Jiilaal'' (winter) is the long dry season which lasts from December until mid-March. ''Jiilaal'' is the coolest period of the year in Somaliland, but still brings relatively high amounts of humidity.

Coastline

Somaliland has a total coastline of , along the

. In February 2017, Somaliland declared a Exclusive Economic Zone and a 24 nautical mile Contiguous Zone in addition to its claimed territorial waters. Internationally, however, the waters are still recognized as belonging to

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somaliland, Geography

Geography of Somaliland Somaliland is an list of states with limited recognition, unrecognised sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, internationally considered to be part of Somalia. Somaliland is located in the East Africa, East African sub-continent between the e ...

Afrotropical realm Deserts and xeric shrublands