African known places
All about the Victoria Falls: The waterfall on the Zambezi River in southern Africa
Victoria Falls is a waterfall on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, which provides habitat for several unique species of plants and animals. It is located on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe and is considered to be one of the world's largest waterfalls due to its width of 1,708 m. The wide, basalt cliff over which the falls thunder, transforms the Zambezi from a placid river into a ferocious torrent cutting through a series of dramatic gorges.
Facing the Falls is another sheer wall of basalt, rising to the same height, and capped by mist-soaked rain forest. A path along the edge of the forest provides the visitor prepared to brave the tremendous spray, with an unparalleled series of views of the Falls.
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Maasai Mara, also sometimes spelled Masai Mara and locally known simply as The Mara, is a large national game reserve in Narok, Kenya, contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. It is named in honor of the Maasai people, the ancestral inhabitants of the area, who migrated to the area from the Nile Basin. Their description of the area when looked at from afar: "Mara" means "spotted" in the local Maasai language, due to the many short bushy trees which dot the landscape.
Large numbers of Lions, Cheetah, Elephant, Rhino, African Buffalo, Wildebeest, Giraffe, Zebra and many more animals are found in the park in their natural habitat, unconfined and free to roam the vast wilderness stretching for miles on end.
Read More about Great Migration in Masai Mara, Kenya Nechisar National Park: National park in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR) of Ethiopia
Nechisar National Park (or Nech Sar National Park) is a national park in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR) of Ethiopia. It is in the Great Rift Valley, within the southwestern Ethiopian Highlands.
Nechisar National Park is situated 510km south of Addis near the town of Arba Minch, in between Lakes Abaya and Chamo. From the town on the ridge of land that divides Abaya and Chamo there are commanding panoramic views all around, including both lakes with Nechisar on the eastern side and, to the west, the Guge range of mountains.The 750-square-kilometre (190,000-acre) park includes the "Bridge of God", an isthmus between Lake Abaya and Lake Chamo, and the Nechisar (English: white grass) plains east of the lakes. It is east of Arba Minch.
Park elevations range between 1,108 and 1,650 metres (3,635 and 5,413 ft) above sea level. Nechisar National Park was established in 1974. Under the management of African Parks Network (APN since 2005, it was reportedly scheduled to hand over management to the Ethiopian government in June 2008.
Read More about Nechisar National Park Bale Mountains National Park (BMNP): a national park in Ethiopia
Bale Mountains National Park (BMNP) is a national park in Ethiopia. The park encompasses an area of approximately 2,150 square kilometres (530,000 acres) in the Bale Mountains and Sanetti Plateau of the Ethiopian Highlands.
The park's Afromontane habitats have one of the highest incidences of animal endemicity of any terrestrial habitat in the world. The park was nominated to the World Heritage Tentative List in 2009. The Bale Mountains National Park is located in southeastern Ethiopia, 400km southeast of Addis Ababa and 150km east of Shashamene in the Oromia Regional National State. It belongs to the Bale-Arsi massif, which forms the western section of the southeastern Ethiopian highlands.
Read More about Bale Mountains National Park (BMNP): a national park in Ethiopia The Birthplace of Coffee
Despite its unique coffee heritage, Bonga, a town hidden away deep in southwestern Ethiopia, is not a name encountered often. I’d certainly never heard of it, despite extensive travels around Ethiopia, until I was invited by the Japanese embassy in Addis Ababa to visit a project helping smallholder coffee farmers.
The term “coffee” is said to derive from Kaffa, the ancient name for the present-day Oromia region in which Bonga lies. The Kaffa Kingdom lasted as an independent state for over 500 years, supported by a rich trade in gold, ivory and coffee, until annexed by Ethiopia in 1897. More notably, perhaps, legend has it that sometime around the 6th century in Bonga’s locality, a curious goatherder named Khaldi spotted his goats eating red berries from a shrub he’d never seen before, after which they became particularly frisky. So Khaldi gave the berries a try himself, the coffee bean was discovered, and breakfast time across the world would never be the same again.
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The Best Places to Visit in Ethiopia
With the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites than any other African country (including Egypt), Ethiopia is a hidden gem that is overlooked by many travellers. With such cultural diversity, archaeological pedigree and natural beauty, there's a good reason why its a so high on the Wild Frontiers travel list.
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa in Ethiopia
Ethiopia's capital is located more or less in the dead centre of the country and is the world's third-highest capital at 2,400 m. Its name means 'New Flower' and it is a relatively modern city, founded in 1887 by Emperor Menelik II. In just over a century it has grown from nothing into a modern metropolis of several million people. Its altitude lends it a comfortable climate and throughout the year the weather is temperate with just the occasional downpour.
Adigrat
The northernmost city in the unspoilt Tigray region, Adigrat is an ideal stopping point en-route from Axum to Mekele. Although the town itself is nothing special, a new lodge has recently opened on the outskirts of town, which is a comfortable base to explore the rock churches for which the Tigray region is famed.
Arba Minch
With stunning views in all directions, the town of Arba Minch is situated in a truly spectacular location. It lies at an elevation of 1,300m in the foothills of the Rift Valley and mountains rise up to almost 4,000m to the west. The town comprises 2 separate settlements, Sikela and Shecha that are 4 km apart and connected by a sealed road, so although the total population is around the 75,000 marks it still retains a small-town atmosphere.
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All about The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), History, Primary aim and Hope for Ethiopians
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) Amharic: ታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዳሴ ግድብ, romanized: Tālāqu ye-Ītyōppyā Hidāsē Gidib), formerly known as the Millennium Dam and sometimes referred to as Hidase Dam (Amharic: ሕዳሴ ግድብ, romanized: Hidāsē Gidib), is a gravity dam on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia under construction since 2011. The dam is in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia, about 45 km (28 mi) east of the border with Sudan.
Location of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Ethiopia
Country Ethiopia
Location Benishangul-Gumuz Region
Coordinates 11°12′55″N 35°05′35″ECoordinates: 11°12′55″N 35°05′35″E
Purpose Power
Status Under construction
Construction began April 2011
Opening date July 2020
Construction cost $5 billion USD
Owner(s) Ethiopian Electric Power
Dam and spillways
Type of dam Gravity, roller-compacted concrete
Impounds Blue Nile River
Height 145 m (476 ft)
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Mount Kilimanjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro (/ˌkɪlɪmənˈdʒɑːroʊ/)[8] is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest single free-standing mountain in the world: 5,895 metres (19,341 ft) above sea level and about 4,900 metres (16,100 ft) above its plateau base.
Kilimanjaro is the fourth most topographically prominent peak on Earth. It is part of Kilimanjaro National Park and is a major climbing destination. Because of its shrinking glaciers and ice fields, which are projected to disappear between 2030 and 2050, it has been the subject of many scientific studies.
Located in Tanzania, Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa’s tallest mountain at about 5,895 meters (19,340 feet). It is the largest free-standing mountain rise in the world, meaning it is not part of a mountain range.
Also called a stratovolcano (a term for a very large volcano made of ash, lava, and rock), Kilimanjaro is made up of three cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. Kibo is the summit of the mountain and the tallest of the three volcanic formations. While Mawenzi and Shira are extinct, Kibo is dormant and could possibly erupt again. Scientists estimate that the last time it erupted was 360,000 years ago. The highest point on Kibo’s crater rim is called Uhuru, the Swahili word for “freedom.” The mountain is also known for its snow-capped peak; however, scientists warn that the snow might disappear within the next 20 years or so.
Read More about Mount Kilimanjaro Ras Dejen (Dashen): the highest mountain in Ethiopia and fourteenth highest peak in Africa
Ras Dashen (Amharic: ራስ ዳሸን rās dāshn), also known as Ras Dejen, is the highest mountain in Ethiopia and fourteenth highest peak in Africa. Located in the Simien Mountains National Park in the Amhara Region, it reaches an elevation of 4,550 metres (14,930 ft).
The English form, "Ras Dashen" is a corruption of its Amharic name, "Ras Dejen", the term used by the Ethiopian Mapping Authority (EMA) which alludes to the traditional head or general who fights in front of the Emperor.
According to Erik Nilsson, Ras Dejen is the eastern peak of the rim of "an enormous volcano,
14,872 feet (4,533 metres) for Mount Ras Dejen (or Dashen), the highest point in Ethiopia, to the Blue Nile and Tekeze river channels 10,000 feet below. Lake Tana—Ethiopia’s largest inland lake and the main reservoir for the Blue Nile River—is located in this region, at an elevation of about 6,000
The northern half of which is cut down about [a] thousand metres by numerous ravines, draining into the Takkazzi River." Its western counterpart is Mount Biuat (4,510 meters), separated by the valley of the Meshaha river. The mountain often sees violent snowfalls during the night, but given that day and night temperatures vary greatly, the snow is almost completely melted in a few hours (during the hottest period of the year), for the temperature may be over 5 degrees Celsius by midday. In winter snow falls rarely, since the majority of Ethiopia's yearly rainfall is in the summer, but if it does it usually lasts for weeks or months.
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Serengeti National Park
Last but most definitely not least, the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania is where you’ll find lions, leopards, giraffe, buffalo, rhinos, and gazelle across plains, woodlands and savanna.
And it’s where every year the Serengeti Migration takes place, with millions of antelope, zebra and wildebeest heading for green pasture lands in the Maasai Mara in Kenya. It’s one of the most remarkable sites in the natural world. There are plenty of companies available to help you find the best time and location to witness the migration.
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Zanzibar Archipelago
The Zanzibar Archipelago is a tropical paradise off the coast of Tanzania in the Indian Ocean. Golden beaches, cerulean waters, and swaying palm trees make for an amazingly beautiful place. There are four main islands, Unguja, Pemba, Mafia and the uninhabited Latham Islands, along with many smaller islands that surround them. You’ll find Zanzibar City, famous for its historic Stone Town area and its connection to the spice and slave trades in the 19th century, on Unguja Island.
Wikipedia says The Zanzibar Archipelago (Arabic: أرخبيل زنجبار, Swahili: Funguvisiwa la Zanzibar) consists of several islands lying off the coast of East Africa south of the Somali sea. The archipelago is also known as the Spice Islands. There are four main islands, three primary islands with human populations, a fourth coral island that serves as an essential breeding ground for seabirds, plus a number of smaller islets that surround them and an isolated tiny islet
Most of the archipelago belongs to the Zanzibar semi-autonomous region of Tanzania, while Mafia Island and its associated islets are part of the Pwani Region on the mainland.
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