Gofa Zone (

Amharic Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...

"Greater Gofa Area") was one of the 17 Zones 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 E ...

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 ...

. Part of the

, Gofa Zone was bordered on the south by

Kamba Kamba may refer to: *Kamba people of Kenya *Bena-Kamba, a community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo *Khampa, also spelled Kamba, Tibetan people of Kham Kham (; ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Amdo in ...

and Daramalo woredas, on the southwest by the Debub (South) Omo Zone, on the west by the

Basketo special woreda Basketo is a Districts of Ethiopia, woreda in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia, named after its inhabitants, the Basketo people. Because Basketo is not part of any administrative Zone in the SNNPR, it is consi ...

, on the northwest by

Dawro Zone Dawro (or Dawuro) is a zone in the South West Region of Ethiopia. It is located at about 500km southwest of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia and 319 km of Hawassa, the capital of the SNNPR. Dawuro is bordered on the south by Gamo Gofa Zone, ...

, on the north by the

, and on the east by

Kucha Kucha, or Kuche (also: ''Kuçar'', ''Kuchar''; ug, كۇچار, Кучар; zh, t= 龜茲, p=Qiūcí, zh, t=庫車, p=Kùchē; sa, कूचीन, translit=Kūcīna), was an ancient Buddhist kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Road ...

. The administrative center of Gofa Zone is

Sawla Sawla (also known as Felege Neway) is a town in southern Ethiopia. Located in Gofa Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of above sea level. It is surrounde ...

; other towns included

Bulki Bulki is a town in south-western Ethiopia. It sits on a narrow ridge, high above the town of Sawla, in the Gamo Gofa Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region. It is the administrative center of Geze Gofa woreda. Based on ...

. Gofa Zone was separated for Demba Gofa Woreda, Geze Gofa Woreda, Zala Woreda, Malo Koza Woreda, Gada Woreda, Uba Debretsehay Woreda, Oyda Woreda and the two town Administrations Sawla town and Bulki town. Gofa Zone is part of a region known for hilly and undulating midland and upper lowland terrain; due to terrain and weather patterns, less than one in five households is food secure. Food crops include

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

enset ''Ensete ventricosum'', commonly known as enset or ensete, Ethiopian banana, Abyssinian banana, pseudo-banana, false banana and wild banana, is an herbaceous species of flowering plant in the banana family Musaceae. The domesticated form of ...

, sweet potatoes,

taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Africa ...

teff ''Eragrostis tef'', also known as teff, Williams lovegrass or annual bunch grass, is an annual grass, a species of lovegrass native to the Horn of Africa, notably to both Eritrea and Ethiopia. It is cultivated for its edible seeds, also known as ...

, and yams; income sources include butter and selling firewood. According to a 2004 report, Gofa Zuria had 75 kilometers of all-weather roads for an average road density of 44 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers."Detailed statistics on roads"
, SNNPR Bureau of Finance and Economic Development website (accessed 15 September 2009)

Demographics

Notes

{{coord, 6, 25, N, 36, 55, E, display=title, type:adm3rd_region:ET Districts of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region