GEOGRAPHY OF ETHIOPIA

AND THE HORN

BY
Fentanesh Haile
(Asst. Profesor)
Fentanesh Haile ( Asst.Professor), Bahir Dar
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 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Geography: Definition, Scope and Themes
-It is difficult to forward a definition acceptable to all
geographers at all times and places,
-because of the dynamic nature of the discipline and the
changes in its scope and method of study.
However, the following may be accepted as a working definition.
-Geography is the scientific study of the Earth that describes and
analyses spatial and temporal variations of physical, biological
and human phenomena, and their interrelationships and
dynamism over the surface of the Earth.

Fentanesh Haile ( Asst.Professor), Bahir Dar

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 1.1.2. The Scope, Approaches and Themes of
Geography
• Geography has now acquired the status of science that
explains the arrangements of various natural and cultural
features on the Earth surface.
• It is a holistic and interdisciplinary field of study
contributing to the understanding of the changing spatial
structures from the past to the future.
• Thus, the scope of Geography is the surface of the Earth,
which is the very thin zone that is the interface of the
atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere(biosphere), which
provides the habitable zone in which life forms &
humans are able to live.
Fentanesh Haile ( Asst.Professor), Bahir Dar
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• Geography can be approached by considering two
continuums: a human-physical continuum and a
topical-regional continuum.
• The topical (systematic) fields of Geography view
particular categories of physical or human phenomena
as distributed over the Earth
• while regional geography is concerned with the
associations within regions of all or some of the
elements and their interrelationships.
• Geography has five basic themes namely location,
place, human-environment interaction, movement, and
region.

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 Cont’d
• Location: is defined as a particular place or position. Most
studies of geography begin with the mention of this theme
of geography. Location can be of two types: absolute
location and relative location.
• Place: refers to the physical and human aspects of a
location. This theme of geography is associated with
toponym (the name of a place), site (the description of the
features of the place), and situation (the environmental
conditions of the place).
• Each place in the world has its unique characteristics
expressed in terms of landforms, hydrology, biogeography,
pedology, characteristics and size of its human population,
and the distinct human cultures.
Fentanesh Haile ( Asst.Professor), Bahir Dar
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 Cont’d
Human-Environment Interaction:
• Humans have always been on ceaseless interaction
with their natural environment.
• No other species that has lived on our planet has a
profound effect on the environment as humans.
• Humans have adapted to the environment in ways that
have allowed them to dominate all other species on
Earth.
• Thus, human-environment interaction involves three
distinct aspects: dependency, adaptation, and
modification.
Fentanesh Haile ( Asst.Professor), Bahir Dar
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 Cont’d
• Movement:
• Movement entails to the translocation of human
beings, their goods, and their ideas from one end of
the planet to another.
• The physical movement of people allowed the human
race to inhabit all the continents and islands of the
world.
• Another aspect of movement is the transport of
goods from one place on the Earth to another.
• The third dimension of movement is the flow of ideas
that allows the unification of the human civilization
and promotes its Fentanesh
growth and prosperity.
Haile ( Asst.Professor), Bahir Dar
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 Cont’d
• Region: is a geographic area having distinctive
characteristics that distinguishes itself from
adjacent unit(s) of space.
• It could be a formal region that is characterized by
homogeneity in terms of a certain phenomenon
(soil, temperature, rainfall, or other cultural
elements like language, religion, and economy).
• It can also be a functional or nodal region
characterized by functional interrelationships in a
spatial system defined by the linkages binding
particular phenomena.
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 1.2. Location, Shape and Size of Ethiopia and the Horn
• The Horn of Africa, a region of eastern Africa, is a
narrow tip that protrudes into the northern Indian
Ocean, separating it from the Gulf of Aden.
• It is home to the countries of Djibouti, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, and Somalia, whose cultures have been
linked throughout their long history.
• Although the countries of the region share many
common features, there is also great diversity among
them, rendering each country unique.
-In terms of size, Ethiopia is the largest of all the Horn
of African countries,
-while Djibouti is the smallest.
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 Cont’d
• contains such diverse areas as the highlands of
the Ethiopian Plateau, the Ogaden desert, and
the Eritrean and Somali coasts.

• Its coasts are washed by the Red Sea, the Gulf of

Aden, and the Indian Ocean, and it has long been
in contact with the Arabian Peninsula and
southwestern Asia.

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 1.2.1. Location of Ethiopia
• The location a map or a globe is expressed in
two different ways (astronomical and relative
locations)
• Astronomically, Ethiopia is a landlocked country
located between 3°N (Moyale) and 15°N
(Bademe the northernmost tip of Tigray)
latitudes and
• 33°E (Akobo) to 48°E (the tip of Ogaden in the
east) longitudes.
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 Cont’d

• The latitudinal and longitudinal extensions are important in

two ways.

• 1st,as a result of its latitudinal extension the country

experiences tropical climate

• 2nd, due to its longitudinal extension there is a difference of

one hour between the most easterly and most westerly
points of the country.
• It is only for convenience that the 3 hours-time zone is used in
all parts of the country.
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Table 1.1: The relative location of Ethiopia
Vicinal location In relation to water
bodies & land masses
Sudan to the west and In the Horn of Africa
Northwest Southwest of the
South Sudan to southwest Arabian Peninsula
Djibouti to the east South of Europe
Eritrea to the north and Northwest of the Indian
northeast Ocean
Kenya to the south In the Nile Basin

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 The implications of the location of Ethiopia

a) Climate:
• Ethiopia is located between 3°N and 15°N
(between the Equator and Tropic of Cancer) implies
that the country has a tropical climate, though
modified by its altitude.

• The location of Ethiopia relative to the Indian

Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the African and
Asian landmass has also various bearings on the
climate of Ethiopia.
• Fentanesh Haile ( Asst.Professor), Bahir Dar
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 Cont’d
B) Socio-cultural:
-Ethiopia is one of the earliest recipients of the major
world religions namely Christianity, Islam and
Judaism due to its proximity to the Middle East,
which was the origin of these religions.

-The linguistic and other cultural relationships, which

Ethiopia shares with its neighbors, reflect the
influence of location.

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 Cont’d
c) Political:
-The political history of Ethiopia has been considerably
influenced by:
• Geopolitical considerations of superpowers.
• Adjacency to the Red Sea (a major global trade
route).
• The Middle East geopolitical paradigms.
• As a result, Ethiopia has been exposed for external
invasions in a number of times; though the country
resisted foreign intervention and remains free of
external domination.
Fentanesh Haile ( Asst.Professor), Bahir Dar
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Figure 1.1.Ethiopia‟s location in relation to its neighboring countries
Fentanesh Haile ( Asst.Professor), Bahir Dar
Source: Africa Map Library University
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 1.2.2. Size of Ethiopia
• Ethiopia with a total area of approximately 1,106,000
sqkms is the 8th largest country in Africa and 25th in the
World.
• It extends about 1,639 kms East-West, and 1,577
kilometers North-South.
• About 0.7% of the country is covered by water bodies.

• The size of Ethiopia also affects both the natural and

human environment of the country.

Fentanesh Haile ( Asst.Professor), Bahir Dar
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 Table 1.2. The advantages and disadvantages of Ethiopia’s large
size
Advantages Disadvantages
Possess diverse agro ecological Demands greater capital to
zones construct infrastructural facilities

Variety of natural resources Requires large army to protect its

territory
Own extensive arable land Difficult for effective
administration
Have larger population size Difficult for socio-economic
integration
Home for diverse cultures
Greater depth in defense external
invasion

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 1.2.3. The shape of Ethiopia and its Implication
• Countries of the World have different kinds of shape
that can be divided into five main categories:
compact,
fragmented,
elongated,
perforated, and
protruded.

-These shapes have implications on defense,

administration and economic integration within a
country.
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 Cont’d
1. Compact shape countries: The distance from the
geographic centre of the state to any of the borders does
not vary greatly.
• It is easier for defense, socioeconomic and cultural
integration.
• Eg: Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho,
2. Fragmented shape countries: They are divided from
their other parts by either water, land or other countries.
 Eg: UK, Greek,
3. Elongated shape countries: They are geographically long
and relatively narrow like Chile.
Fentanesh Haile ( Asst.Professor), Bahir Dar
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 Cont’d

4. Perforated shape countries: A country that completely

surrounds another country like the Republic of South
Africa.
-South Africa surrounds Lesotho

5. Protrude shape countries: Countries that have one

portion that is much more elongated than the rest of the
country like Myanmar and Eritrea.

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 Cont’d
• There are various ways of measuring shape of
countries. These measures are known as the indices of
compact
• These indices measure the deviation of the shape of a
country from a circular shape,
• Since there is no country with absolutely circular
shape, those approximating a circular shape are said to
be more compact.
• There are four most commonly used measures of
compactness

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 Cont’d
1. The ratio of area of country to its boundary length: Area-
Boundary ratio. The higher the A/B ratio, the greater the degree
of compactness.
2. The ratio of boundary length of a country to the circumference
of a circle having the same area as the country itself:
Boundary-Circumference ratio. It measures how far the
boundary of a country approximates the circumference of a
circle of its own size. Therefore, the nearer the ratio to 1 the
more compact the country is.
3. The ratio of the area of the country to the circumference of the
smallest inscribing circle:
Area-Circumference ratio. It compares the area of the country
with the circumference of a circle that passes touching the
extreme points on the boundary of the country. The higher the
A/C ratio, the greater Fentanesh
the degree of compactness.
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 Cont’d
4. The ratio of the actual area of a country to the
smallest possible inscribing circle:
Area-Area (A/A‟) ratio. The area of the inscribing circle
is the area of the smallest possible circle whose
circumference passes through the extreme points on
the boundary. Half-length of the longest distance
between two extreme points gives radius of the
inscribing circle. The nearer the ratio to 1, the more
compact the country is.

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Fentanesh Haile ( Asst.Professor), Bahir Dar
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 1.3. Basic Skills of Map Reading
• What is a Map? A map is a two-dimensional scaled
representation of part or whole of the Earth surface on a
flat body such as piece of paper, black board, wood or
cloth.
• Map reading encompasses a systematic identification of
natural features and manmade features.
 Importance of maps
 Provide the basis for making geographical details of regions
represented i.e. the geographical facts of an area such as
relief, drainage, settlement etc.
 Maps are powerful tools for making spatial analysis of
geographical facts of areas represented.
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 Cont’d
 Maps are useful for giving location of geographical
features by varied methods of grid reference, place
naming etc.
 Maps are used on various disciplines like land use
planning, military science, aviation, tourism, marine
science, population studies, epidemiology, geology,
economics, history, archaeology, agriculture etc.
 Map makes storage of the geographical data of areas
represented.
 Maps are potentially used to asses‟ reliable
measurements of the geographical features. The
measurements can be of area size, distance etc.
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 Types of Map
• There are many types of maps according to their
purpose and functions. For the purpose of this course,
topographical and statistical maps are considered.

a. Topographical maps:
• Topographic maps depict one or more natural
and cultural features of an area. They could be
small, medium or large scale depending on the
size of the area represented.

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 Cont’d
b. Special purpose/statistical maps: These are maps, which show
distribution of different aspects such as temperature, rainfall,
settlement, vegetation etc.

Marginal Information on Maps (Elements of Maps)

• Marginal information is shown on a map to enable the reading and

interpretation of the geographical information of an area represented.
a. Title: It is the heading of the given map which tells what the map is all
about.
b. Key (legend): It is the list of all convectional symbols and signs shown
on the map with their interpretation.
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 Cont’d
c. Scale: It is the ratio between the distance on the map and
the actual ground distance. Scales enable the map user to
interpret the ground measurement like road distance, areal
sizes, gradient etc.
-It can be expressed as representative fraction,
statements/verbal scale, and linear (graphic) scale.
d. North arrow: It is indicated with the north direction on a
map; used to know the other important directions of the
mapped area like east, west, south, and west.
e. Margin: Is the frame of the map. It is important for showing
the end of the mapped area.
f. Date of compilation: It is a date of map publication. This
enables map users to realize whether the map is updated or
outdated. Fentanesh Haile ( Asst.Professor), Bahir Dar
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