Tsigereda () is the capital of Gere-alta woreda (up to 1993, and again starting 2020). Tsigereda means "rose" in the local

Tigrinya (; also spelled Tigrigna) is an Ethio-Semitic language commonly spoken Eritrea and in northern Ethiopia's Tigray Region by the Tigrinya and Tigrayan peoples. It is also spoken by the global diaspora of these regions. History and literatur ...

language.

History

In Imperial times (before 1975), Tsigereda used to be the center of the Gere-alta woreda, part of the former Enderta province. This Gere-alta woreda consisted of the western part of the current

Hawzen Hawzen ( Ge'ez: ሓውዜን) is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Misraqawi (Eastern) Zone of the Tigray Region (or ''kilil''), this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 2105 meters above sea level. Its market da ...

and

Kilte Awulaelo Kilte Awulaelo () is one of the Districts of Ethiopia, or ''woredas'', in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraqawi Zone, Kilte Awulaelo is bordered on the south by the Debub Misraqawi (Southeastern) Zone, on the west by the Mehakelegn ...

districts.

Geography

The ''tabia'' stretches down from the Arebay peaks in

Dogu'a Tembien Dogu'a Tembien (, "Upper Tembien", sometimes transliterated as Degua Tembien) is a woreda in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is named in part after the former province of Tembien. Nowadays, the mountainous district is part of the Southeastern Tigray ...

towards the headwaters of Agefet river.

Geology

From the higher to the lower locations, the following geological formations are present: *

Antalo Limestone The Antalo Limestone, also known as the Antalo Sequence, is a geological formation in Ethiopia. It is between 300 and 800 metres thick and comprises fossiliferous limestones and marls that were deposited in a reef. Marine microfossils have shown ...

* Quaternary

alluvium Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. ...

and freshwater

tufa Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitate out of water in unheated rivers or lakes. Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less porous) carbonate deposits, which are known as travertin ...

Climate

The rainfall pattern shows a very high seasonality with 70 to 80% of the annual rain falling in July and August. Mean temperature in Tsigereda is 22 °C, oscillating between average daily minimum of 12.5 °C and maximum of 31 °C. The contrasts between day and night air temperatures are much larger than seasonal contrasts.

Water availability

In this area with rains that last only for a couple of months per year, the main rivers ( Agefet and

Amblo Amblo is a river of the Nile basin. Rising in the mountains of Dogu’a Tembien in northern Ethiopia, it flows northward to empty finally in Weri’i and Tekezé River. Characteristics It is a confined ephemeral bedrock river, with an aver ...

) are not permanent. Reservoirs of different sizes allow harvesting runoff from the rainy season for further use in the dry season. There are traditional surface water harvesting ponds, particularly in places without permanent springs, called ''rahaya''. In addition, ''horoyo'', household ponds, recently constructed with variable success through campaigns. The Ginda'i water reservoir was constructed northwest of the town of Tsigereda for agricultural purposes. It suffers from siltation. Yet, the reservoir strongly contributes to greening the landscape, both through irrigation and seepage water.

Agriculture and livelihood

The population lives essentially from crop farming, supplemented with off-season work in nearby towns. The land is dominated by

farmland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bo ...

s which are clearly demarcated and are cropped every year. Hence the agricultural system is a permanent upland farming system. The farmers have adapted their

cropping system The term cropping system refers to the crops, crop sequences and management techniques used on a particular agricultural field over a period of years. It includes all spatial and temporal aspects of managing an agricultural system. Historically, cro ...

s to the spatio-temporal variability in rainfall.

Religion and churches

Most inhabitants are Orthodox Christians. Among others, the following churches are located in the ''tabia'': Inda Gabir Amblo, Abune Aregawi and Kidist Maryam.

References

{{Geographic location , Centre = Tsigereda , North = Hawzien , East =

Wukro Wukro ( Tigrigna: ውቕሮ) (also known as Wukro Kilte Awulaelo; Tigrigna: ውቕሮ ክልተ ኣውላዕሎ) (also transliterated Wuqro; is a town and separate woreda in Tigray, Ethiopia. Wukro is located along Genfel River, in the Misra ...

, South =

Addilal Addilal is a ''tabia'' or municipality in the Degua Tembien, Dogu'a Tembien district of the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. The ''tabia'' centre is in Addilal village, located approximately to the east of the ''woreda'' town Hagere Selam (Degua Temb ...

, West = Addi Walka , Southwest = Arebay Populated places in the Tigray Region