Hydrology free fulltext characterization of water level. Characterization of water level variability of the main. Rift valley is considered as one of the most ideal tourism area in ethiopia. A comparison regarding the physico chemical variables and. Eduard suess thoughts on the east african rift system encouraged john gregory to further explore the faulted basins of kenya in 1893, and subsequently expressing the term rift valley. The six main lakes of the ethiopian rift formed during the last lce age, originally as two large lakes.
Most of the ethiopian rift valley lakes do not have an outlet, and most are alkaline. The ethiopian sector of the east african rift system extends for more than km in a nesw to ns direction from the afar depression, at red seagulf of aden junction, southwards to the turkana depression. It is among lakes of the national park of the ethiopian rift valley. Chamo and abaya lakes far south in ethiopia s great rift valley lie two marvellous lakes ringed by savanna plains and smoke. Availability and nutritive value of spirulina arthrospira. Ethiopia has a various lakes and rivers with significant ecosystems services and biodiversity. Until recently, water from the lakes mainly supported agriculture and. By far the largest of ethiopia s rift valley lakes, the 551squarekilometre waters of chamo and the 1,160squarekilometre surface of abaya are considered by many to be also the most beautiful. The southern tip of the rift valley forms the marshy land called the chew bahirwhich is drained by seganand woito. Pdf cyanotoxin production in seven ethiopian rift valley. Cluster of lakes are lined up within main ethiopian rift. The ethiopian rift valley lakes occupy the floor of the rift valley between the two highlands. Debre zeyit bishoftu lake koka lake meki langano lake abijata shalla. This lake is the most studied of the rift valley lakes in ethiopia.
Box 5003, 1432 aas, norway a r t i c l e i n f o article history. Baxter phytoplankton distribution in lakes of the ethiopian rift valley elizabeth kebede primary and secondary production in the. Lake ziway pdf ziway, also called zway or batu, is a town on the shore of lake ziway, a rift valley lake, in oromia, ethiopia. These are the afar triangle, the main ethiopian rift, and the chew bahir rift. The great rift valley olduvai gorge, in tanzanias great rift valley, is one of the most important sites for the study of human evolution. The rift valley, which includes, awash, central lakes, omogibe, and denakil covers 28% of ethiopia and is made up of a group of individual interior basins extending from djibouti in the north to tanzania in the south, with half its total area being located in ethiopia.
Deforestation, pollution from agricultural and industrial activities, runoff from urban areas and overfishing threaten the health of many of the lakes and their water basins. The climate is humid to sub humid in the highlands and semiarid in the rift valley. Opportunities and challenges of tourism development. Far south in ethiopia s great rift valley lie two marvellous lakes ringed by savanna plains and smoke. The rift valley is further subdivided into three physiographic subregions. Lake abaya is the largest of all the lakes in the system. Fossil remains from hadar in the afar depression, and at omo in southern ethiopia, suggest that in order for humans to have lived here, the ethiopian. Shala and ziway are the shallowest and the deepest lakes in the central ethiopian rift. The ethiopian section of the great rift valley runs northeast to southwest, from eritrea to northern kenyas lake turkana, and much of the countrys northern, western, central and southern areas are dominated by a series of highlands collectively known as the ethiopian plateau. We set off early down the rift valley, passing through debre zeit, and by the lakes of koka and zwai if there are birders in the party, we will stop at lake zwai and head down to the lake shore where huge numbers of water birds are congregated. Among freshwater resources, lake hawassa is one of the major rift valley lakes in ethiopia and is used for various purposes by semiurban and urban dwellers 3. Although the ethiopian rift valley lakes are of great importance to ethiopia s economy, as well as being essential to the survival of the local people, there were no. The thesis describes the major factors contributing to the shrinkage of pastoralist resources in the ethiopian lakes region and the process of transformation of traditional pastoralism.
Before embarking on the east african rift system, current. Whilst lake tana is the most wellknown lake in the country, it is not one of the rift valley lakes, and is found in the highlands next to the town of bahir dar. The central ethiopian rift valley is a part of the great african rift which situated in the administrative regions of oromia and the southern nations nationalities and peoples region snnpr. Previous research activities in the ethiopian rift valley lakes region focused on soil, water, sediment and fish tissue samples to assess the extent of pollution with regard to selected trace elements zinabu, 2002, zinabu and pearce, 2003, masresha et al. Lake hawassa is an endothecia basin in ethiopia, located in the rift valley south of addis ababa, this lake measure 16 km long and 9km wide, with a surface area of 129 square kilometers and has a maximum depth of 10 meters with an elevation of 1,708 meters. The oldest and best defined rift occurs in the afar region of ethiopia and this rift is usually referred to as the ethiopian rift. Introduction to rift valleys excerpt from national geographic education. The naturefocused tourism of kenya, tanzania and uganda has attracted more foreign. The great african rift valley extends down from jordan in the middle east all the way down to mozambique in southern africa.
In the main ethiopian rift valley region, no increasingdecreasing precipitation trend for the last 50 years has been detected. The study on 10 lakes within the ethiopian rift valley during marchmay 1991 covered a range of conductivity k25 between 286 and 49100 s cm1. Cyanotoxin production in seven ethiopian rift valley lakes eva willen swedish university of agricultural sciences, department of aquatic sciences and assessment, se750 07 uppsala, sweden correspondence email eva. Threats and opportunities to major rift valley lakes wetlands of ethiopia teklu gebretsadik and kassahun mereke hawassa agricultural research center, south agricultural research institute, ethiopia. Lake koka, one of the rift valley lakes in the awash river basin, was created artificially for hydroelectric power generation in 19602 but later it has been also fulfilling different social and ecological needs. Threats and opportunities to major rift valley lakes wetlands of ethiopia.
Threats and opportunities of central ethiopia rift valley. Langano in particular is also popular with local tourists, as it is the only lake in ethiopia without bilharzia, making it safe to swim in. Land and water resources assessment in the ethiopian central. The great rift valley central bucks school district. Land and water resources assessment in the ethiopian. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Most of the basin faults are oriented ns and n40e and at its margins the faults trend n30en40e boccaletti et al. By far the largest of ethiopias rift valley lakes, the 551squarekilometre waters of chamo and the 1,160squarekilometre surface of abaya are considered by many to be also the most beautiful. We hypothesized that unusual deaths and illnesses in wild and domestic animals in lake. Olduvai, also known as oldupai, was the site of a large lake 500,000 years ago. Their trace elements concentration and use as pollution indicators yetneberk a. Ethiopia has a number of lakes, most of which are found within the rift valley, that are central for socioeconomic developments. Giwa regional assessments east african rift valley lakes. Aug 27, 2007 the ethiopian rift is characterized by many perennial rivers, and a chain of lakes that vary in size, and hydrological and hydrogeological settings.
Rift valley lakes in ethiopia tour operators in ethiopia. The study on 10 lakes within the ethiopian rift valley during marchmay 1991 covered a range of conductivity k25 between 286 and 49100 s cm. The food was analyzed to determine its chemical composition. However, trace elements enrichment in macrophytes from water and sediments in the. It splits the countrys highlands in two and contains the rift valley lakes to the south. The ethiopian rift valley lakes host populations of edible fish species including oreochromis niloticus, labeobarbus intermedius and clarias gariepinus, which are harvested also in other tropical. Further to the south a series of rifts occur which include a western branch, the lake albert rift or albertine rift which contains the east african great lakes, and an eastern branch that roughly bisects kenya. In the central rift valley major agricultural developments are planned while competition for available water resources is pressing. Uptake of trace elements in aquatic macrophytes takes place via their roots from sediments and via their shoot from the water denny, 1980 and different aquatic macrophytes tend to take up. In central ethiopia, the main ethiopian rift, also known as the great rift valley, splits the ethiopian highlands into northern and southern halves, and the ethiopian rift valley lakes occupy the floor of the rift valley between the two highlands. Fossil remains from hadar in the afar depression, and at omo in southern ethiopia, suggest that in order for humans to have lived here, the ethiopian rift must at one time have been better watered than it is presently. Abstract ethiopia has a various lakes and rivers with significant ecosystems services and biodiversity.
This kept the level of some lakes constant, with little or no change but some of the lakes in the region experienced either an increasing or decreasing trend 7,9,10. Rift valley lakes ethiopia an important resource for life. The limited available water resources in the central rift valley and the increasing. This study deals with the central ethiopian rift valley lakes encompassing lake ziway, lake abyata, lake langano and lake shala. In the early holocene, coinciding with the african humid period 12,000 and 5000 bp, the lake level of turkana raised until it reached it highest point since the last glacial. Langano in particular is also popular with local tourists, as it is the only lake in ethiopia. The great rift valley lakes download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl. Ethiopian rift valley lakes have significant environmental, economic and cultural importance to the region 2. The ethiopian rift valley, also referred to as the great rift valley of ethiopia, is situated between the ethiopian highlands, in the. The ethiopian rift is characterized by many perennial rivers, and a chain of lakes that vary in size, and hydrological and hydrogeological settings. Abstractwe hypothesized that unusual deaths and illnesses in wild and domestic animals in lake areas of the rift valley south of addis ababa were caused by toxic cyanobacteria.
The rift s ever changing geology, which was marked by the slow sedimentation of rivers and changes. The cluster of lakes shala, abyata and langano that are found in this area are a great spot for birdwatching, with many of ethiopia s numerous species of birds found here. Current ecological scenario of some rift valley lakes of ethiopia. To ensure people and nature benefit from this truly outstanding region of africa, wwf has designated the rift valley lakes as one of its priority ecoregions for conservation. Jul 18, 2019 the lakes of the ethiopian rift valley, which is part of the larger east african rift, are the northernmost lakes of the african rift valley and include some of the worlds oldest, deepest, and largest lakes. It is noteworthy that the great rift valley of africa has yielded fossil evidence of some of the worlds earliest hominids. Increasing population pressure and economic developments put an increasing claim on the precious fresh water resources. Cyanotoxin production in seven ethiopian rift valley lakes. Although the ethiopian rift valley lakes are of great importance to ethiopias economy, as well as being essential to the survival of the local people, there were no. The ethiopian rift valley and the rift valley lakes the great rift valley stretches for over 9,600kms form turkey to mozambique.
The lakes are mostly alkaline, and do not have outlets for the water contained within them. Click download or read online button to get the great rift valley lakes book now. The afar triangle is the largest and widest part of the rift valley. May 23, 2017 the ultimate ethiopian food tour street food and restaurants in addis ababa, ethiopia. A study on an herbivorous fish, oreochromis niloticus l. The natural food of oreochromis niloticus from two ethiopian rift valley lakes, awasa and zwai, was studied from the stomach contents. In central ethiopia the great rift valley splits the ethiopian highlands into northern and southern halves, and the ethiopian rift valley lakes occupy the. It investigates the impacts of external interventions on local. The area is generally of low altitude 300700 meters. Lake turkana and its basin lie in the zone between the ethiopian rift valley to the north and the kenyan rift valley to the south. The major ones are lake abaya, lake chamo, lake awassa, lake ziway and lake abiata. John gregory is widely regarded as the founding father of the geology of the east african rift system. Lakes in ethiopia are often adjacent to one or more urban areas, along with farmers and other. The water resources of the rift lakes are one of the focal points for large.
The study on 10 lakes within the ethiopian rift valley during marchmay 1991 covered a range of conductivity k 25 between 286 and 49100 s cm. Agricultural development in the central ethiopian rift. Background of the study ethiopia launched the universal access program uap in 2005 due to its low rate of access to safe water, which at the time in rural and urban areas remained at approximately 38%. Aquatic macrophytes in ethiopian rift valley lakes.
Lake ziway, abiyata, shalla and langano are the common central ethiopia rift valley lakes. The changing face of the ethiopian rift lakes and their. Analysis of physicochemical characteristics of water. The lakes of the ethiopian rift valley, which is part of the larger east african rift, are the northernmost lakes of the african rift valley and include some of the worlds oldest, deepest, and largest lakes. This valley can be divided into three major rift zones with distinctive volcanic and tectonic features, from north to south. The central ethiopian rift valley is characterized by a chain of lakes and wetlands with unique hydrological and ecological characteristics. Threats and opportunities to major rift valley lakes wetlands. Chapter 4 lake water management in three ethiopian rift. The ethiopian rift valley is roughly northeast oriented. Study area and characteristics of the lakes the rift valley lakes basin rvlb is one of the eleven major river basins in ethiopia with a total area of about 52,000 km2 12.
Land and water resources assessment in the ethiopian central rift valley project. Lakes abiata and shalla are ideal for bird watchers, the lake abaya is the longest of the ethiopian rift valley lakes, the site is the most picturesque in ethiopia known as bridge of heaven, division between lakes abaya and chamo by a hilly ridge with a scenic view from the top. Opportunities and challenges of tourism development in the addis ababaupper rift valley corridor tadesse kidanemariam professor, department of geography, edinboro university of pennsylvania, edinboro, usa abstract in spite of a long history of promotion and development, ethiopia s tourism industry is in its initial stages of. The great rift valley extends across the ethiopian plateau, which is divided into two by a series of northsouth tending escarpments. Agricultural development in the central ethiopian rift valley. The ethiopian rift valley lakes are the northernmost of the african rift valley lakes. Central ethiopia rift valley lakes are the most common lakes that are found in central rift valley of ethiopia. The blue nile, the chief headstream of the nile, rises in lake tana in northwest ethiopia.