Geography

Location: Ethiopia is located 3' and 14.8" latitude 33' and 48' longitude in the Eastern part of Africa
(Horn of Africa) bordering Somalia, the Sudan, Djibouti, Kenya and Eritrea with a total border length of
5,311 km. It is the 10th largest country in Africa.

Area: 440,284 square miles (1.14 million square kilometers)

• Land: 1.07 million square kilometers

• Water: 7.0 thousand square kilometers

Boundaries: 5,311 km

• Djibouti: 337 km
• Somalia: 1,626 km
• Sudan: 1,606 km
• Kenya: 830 km
• Eritrea: 912 km

Population per square mile: 127

Fauna & Flora: A variety of fauna and flora are found, some endemic to the country, including the
Semian fox, the mountain nyala, Walia ibex and the Gelada baboon.

Natural Resources: gold, platinum, copper, potash, gem, coal natural gas, incense, natural gum

Land use (2000/01): Arable land, 45%; Irrigated land, 3 %.

Elevation extremes

• Lowest point: Danakil depression, 125 m below sea level

• Highest point: Mount Ras Dashan, 4620 m above sea level

Mountains: 25 mountains with 4,000 meters or higher altitude

Rivers

• Main rivers: Abay (Blue Nile), Wabe Shebele, Genale, Awash, Omo, Tekeze, Mereb, Baro
and Angereb
• Irrigated rivers: Awash, Wabe Shebele
• Navigable rivers: Baro

Lakes

• Major lakes: Abaya, Abiata, Ashenge, Awassa, Chamo, Hayik, Koka, Langano, Shala, Tana
and Ziway
• Largest: Lake Tana (3600 sq. kilometers)
• Smallest: Lake Ashenge (20 sq. kilometers)
• Deepest: Lake Shala
 • Shallowist: Lake Ziway

Parks, reserves: 8 national parks, 10 game reserves and 2 sanctuaries

Located in the heart of the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia is the tenth largest African country by land area
and the third largest African nation in terms of population. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north,
Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Kenya to the south and Sudan to the west.

A land of contrasts, the scenery in Ethiopia changes constantly from one region to another, creating a
microcosm of an entire continent in a nation the size of France and Spain combined. The scenery
changes from hot, dry areas to rolling hills and fertile highlands, to savanna and mountainous regions
where it sometimes even snows. The contrasting land is largely due to the volcanic activity that
shaped the area some forty million years ago when the Ethiopian land mass was shaken by a
massive upheaval. This opened deep faults in the bedrock and its overlying sedimentary layers,
through which white-hot basaltic lava slowly spread over a large expanse of the land. Later, erosion
produced some of the sharp contrasts that travelers visiting Ethiopia can see today.

Ethiopia's dramatic geographic contours, which were formed over one million years ago, have been
hailed by some as probably the most spectacular in the world. The most sensational geographical
feature is the East African Rift Valley, which runs from north to south, cleaving the country into three
distinct regions: the western highlands, the eastern highlands, and the Rift Valley lowlands.

The central highlands stand at altitudes from 7,800-12,000 feet, rising to Ras Dashen at 15,100 feet,
the highest peak in the Simien Mountains. Deep gorges surround the high plateaus, dipping far below
sea level. From the highlands of Gojjam Province in Amhara, the Blue Nile River crashes over the
Tississat Falls, where it begins its 1,000 mile journey to join the White Nile in Sudan. The eastern
highlands run along the Rift Valley escarpment, sloping steeply to the east and widening and
descending into the Danakil Depression at 380 feet below sea level.

Copyright © 2007 Embassy of Ethiopia.