The Horn of Africa (alternatively Northeast Africa, and sometimes Somali Peninsula) is a peninsula in East Africa that juts for hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea, and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. A peninsula is a piece of land that is nearly surrounded by Water but connected to Mainland via an Isthmus. East Africa is the Easternmost Region of the African Continent. The Arabian Sea ( Arabic: بحر العرب transliterated: Baḥr al-'Arab Sanskrit: सिन्धु सागर transliterated: The Gulf of Aden (خليج عدن transliterated: Khalyj 'Adan Somali: Khaleejka Cadan) is located in the Arabian Sea between It is the easternmost projection of the African continent. A continent is one of several large Landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by Convention rather than any strict criteria with seven regions The term also refers to the greater region containing the countries of Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia. Eritrea () ( Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritriya) officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in Djibouti ( جيبوتي Jībūtī, Somali: Jabuuti) officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page Somalia ( Soomaaliya; الصومال) officially the Somali Republic ( Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, جمهورية الصومال) and formerly known As such, it covers approximately 2,000,000 km² (772,200 sq mi) and is inhabited by about 90. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. 2 million people (Ethiopia: 75 million, Somalia: 10 million, Eritrea: 4. 5 million, and Djibouti: 0. 7 million).
Contents |
Geography and climate
The Horn of Africa is almost equidistant from the equator and the Tropic of Cancer. The equator (sometimes referred to colloquially as "the Line") is the intersection of the Earth 's surface with the plane perpendicular to the For the novel by Henry Miller, see Tropic of Cancer (novel. The Tropic of Cancer, or Northern tropic, is one of five It consists chiefly of mountains uplifted through the formation of the Great Rift Valley, a fissure in the Earth's crust extending from Turkey to Mozambique and marking the separation of the African and Arabian tectonic plates. The Great Rift Valley is a name given in the late 19th century by English explorer John Walter Gregory to the continuous geographic trough approximately in length that runs In Geology, a crust is the outermost solid shell of a planet or moon Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Moçambique or República de Moçambique, ʁɛ'publikɐ d musɐ̃'bik is a country in southeastern Africa Plate tectonics (from Greek τέκτων tektōn "builder" or "mason" describes the large scale motions of Earth 's Lithosphere Most of the region is mountainous due to faults resulting from the Rift Valley, with the highest peaks in the Simien Mountains of northwestern Ethiopia. The Semien Mountains lie in northern Ethiopia, north east of Gondar. Extensive glaciers once covered the Simien and Bale Mountains, but melted at the beginning of the Holocene. "Glacial" and "Glaciation" redirect here For the geological periods see Glacial period. The Bale Mountains (also known as the Urgoma Mountains) are a range of Mountains in the Oromia Region of southeast Ethiopia, south of the The Holocene is a Geological epoch which began approximately 10000 years ago (about 8000 BC The mountains descend in a huge escarpment to the Red Sea and more steadily to the Indian Ocean. The Red Sea is a Salt water Inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. Socotra is a small island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia. Socotra or Soqotra ( Arabic سقطرى; Suquṭra) is a small Archipelago of four islands and islets in the Indian Ocean Its size is 3,600 km² (1,390 sq mi) and it is a territory of Yemen, the southernmost country on the Arabian peninsula. Yemen ( Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman officially the Republic of Yemen ( Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhuuriyya The Arabian Peninsula (in Arabic: شبه الجزيرة العربية šibh al-jazīra al-ʻarabīya or جزيرة العرب jazīrat al-ʻarab)
The lowlands of the Horn are generally arid in spite of their proximity to the equator. This is because the winds of the tropical monsoons that give seasonal rains to the Sahel and the Sudan blow from the west. A monsoon is a seasonal prevailing wind which lasts for several months See also Sahel Tunisia, a region of eastern Tunisia. The Sahel or Sahel Belt (from Arabic ساحل sāḥil For the country in north-east Africa see Sudan. The Sudan, from the Arabic bilâd as-sûdân or "land of the Consequently, they lose their moisture upon reaching Djibouti and Somalia, with the result that most of the Horn receives little rainfall during the monsoon season. On the windward side in the west and center of Ethiopia, and the extreme south of Eritrea, monsoonal rainfall is heavy. In the mountains of Ethiopia, many areas receive over 2,000 mm (78 in) per year, and even Asmara receives an average of 570 mm (23 in). The Millimetre ( American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to Inches redirects here To see the Les Savy Fav album see Inches. Asmara (English ( Ge'ez: ኣስመራ Asmera, formerly known as Asmera, or in أسمرا Asmaraa This rainfall is the sole source of water for many areas far from Ethiopia, most famously for Egypt, which — in terms of rainfall — is the driest nation on Earth. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics.
In the winter, the northeasterly trade winds do not provide any moisture except in mountainous areas of northern Somalia, where rainfall in late autumn can produce annual totals as high as 500 mm (20 in). The trade winds (also called trades) are the prevailing pattern of easterly winds found in the Tropics near the Earth's Equator. On the eastern coast, a strong upwelling and the fact that the winds blow parallel to the coast means annual rainfall can be as low as 51 mm (2 in). Upwelling is an oceanographic phenomenon that involves wind-driven motion of dense cooler and usually nutrient-rich water towards the ocean surface replacing the warmer
Temperatures on the Red Sea coast are some of the hottest in the world, typically around 41°C (106°F) in July and 32°C (90°F) in January. On the east coast, owing to the upwelling, they are somewhat, cooler but still hot. As elevation increases, temperatures decrease, so that at Asmara, maxima are around 20°C (68°F), though frosts are frequent on cloudless nights. Asmara (English ( Ge'ez: ኣስመራ Asmera, formerly known as Asmera, or in أسمرا Asmaraa Frost is the solid deposition of Water vapor from saturated air On the highest peaks of the Simien Mountains, however, temperatures rarely reach 14°C (57°F) and can be as low as –10°C (14°F) on cloudless nights.
History
Ancient history
The Kingdom of Aksum (also known as "Axum") was an ancient state located in modern-day Ethiopia, Eritrea, northern Somalia and Yemen that thrived between the 1st and 7th centuries. The Aksumite Empire or Axumite Empire (sometimes called the Kingdom of Aksum or Axum ( Ge'ez: አክሱም was an important trading The 1st century was the Century that lasted from 1 to 100 according the Julian calendar. The 7th century is the period from 601 to 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. Due to the Horn's strategic location, it has been used to restrict access to the Red Sea in the past. The Red Sea is a Salt water Inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia.
The region was also a source of biological resources during the Antiquity: The Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans sent expeditions to the region for frankincense, myrrh, dragon's blood or cinnabar and took these commodities back along the Incense Route. Classical antiquity (also the classical era or classical period) is a broad term for a long period of cultural History centered on the Mediterranean Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Frankincense or olibanum ( Arabic language: لبٌان, lubbān) is an aromatic Resin obtained from trees of the genus Myrrh is a reddish-brown Resinous material the dried sap of the tree Commiphora myrrha, native to Yemen, Somalia Dragon's blood is a bright red Resin that is obtained from different species of four distinct plant genera Croton, Dracaena, Cinnabar, sometimes written cinnabarite, is a name applied to red Mercury(II sulfide ( Hg[[sulfide S]] or native Vermilion, the common The Incense Route or the Incense Road was a series of major ancient trading routes stretching across Egypt to India through Arabia. Therefore the Romans called this region Regio Aromatica. It is believed to also contain the fabled Egyptian Land of Punt. See also Puntland The Land of Punt, also called "Pwenet" by the Ancient Egyptians at times synonymous with Ta netjer, the 'land of
The Horn was also part of a network of ports that extended down the coast of Africa, from the Persian Gulf as part of a larger and ancient commerce route along the greater Indian Ocean rim.
Modern history
In recent decades, the Horn of Africa has been a region continuously in crisis. Ethiopia occupies a predominant position in the Horn because of its demographic importance: about 85% of the area's population live in this country. Demographics or demographic data refers to selected population characteristics as used in government Marketing or opinion research or the Demographic profiles Large parts of the Horn of Africa were colonized by Italy: Eritrea (1880-1941), the Italian Somaliland protectorate (1890-1960) and a brief occupation of Ethiopia (1936-1941). Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Eritrea () ( Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritriya) officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in Italian Somalia (also known as Italian Somaliland) was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy ( Regno d'Italia) from the 1880s until 1942 in the territory NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page Britain established in North Somalia (British Somaliland) and France in Djibouti (French Somaliland). The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927 British Somaliland was a British Protectorate in the north part of the Horn of Africa. Djibouti ( جيبوتي Jībūtī, Somali: Jabuuti) officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Djibouti ( جيبوتي Jībūtī, Somali: Jabuuti) officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Yet Ethiopia's history is largely marked by conflicts between Muslims and Christians for resources and living space, as well as between nationalism and Marxism-Leninism in modern times. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth The term nationalism can refer to an Ideology, a sentiment, a form of Culture, or a Social movement that focuses on the Nation Marxism-Leninism is a Communist ideological stream that emerged as the mainstream tendency amongst the Communist parties in the 1920s as it was adopted The rest of the region also faces several concurrent problems: Somalia is still caught up in a civil war which first began in the late 1980's, while Ethiopia and Eritrea regularly clash. Somalia ( Soomaaliya; الصومال) officially the Somali Republic ( Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, جمهورية الصومال) and formerly known The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989.
Moreover, the region is regularly stricken by natural catastrophes, such as droughts or floods that hit rural areas particularly hard. A natural disaster is the consequence of a Natural hazard (eg A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land a deluge Rural areas can be large and isolated (also referred to as "the country" and/or "the countryside over the course of time As a result, the region has some of the world's highest levels of malnutrition and is continuously threatened with a major humanitarian crisis. Malnutrition is a general term for a medical condition caused by an improper or insufficient diet. A humanitarian crisis (or "humanitarian disaster" is an event or series of events which represents a critical threat to the health safety security or wellbeing of a community Between 1982 and 1992, about two million people died in the Horn of Africa due to this combination of war and famine. A famine is a widespread shortage of food that may apply to any Faunal species which phenomenon is usually accompanied by regional Malnutrition, Starvation
Since 2002 The Horn of Africa has been a major focus of attention by the United States, France, Germany, and eleven African nations regarding the War on Terrorism. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The War on Terrorism (also known as the War on Terror) is the common term for the military political and legal, and ideological conflict and specifically for U
Culture and ethnicity
The countries of the Horn of Africa are culturally linked together. Local people have been using the plow for cultivation and kept the Arabian dromedary as domestic animals for a long time and for the most part represent a unique cultural and racial bloc on the continent. The plough ( American spelling plow; both plaʊ is a Tool used in Farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed The Dromedary camel ( Camelus dromedarius) is a large Even-toed ungulate.
Some important ethno-linguistic groups in the Horn of Africa are:
- In Eritrea: the Bilen, the Afar, the Hedareb (Beni-Amer/Beja), the Kunama (Baza), the Nara (Nialetic), the Saho (Irob), the Rashaida, the Tigre, and the Tigrinya. Afar (Afar alphabet Qafár Feera ዐፋር ʿāfār, عفار Amh Somalis ( Soomaaliyeed, الصوماليون are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The Bilen, Blin or Bilin are an African Ethnic group of south-central Eritrea, in and around the city of Keren, and south Afar (Afar alphabet Qafár Feera ዐፋር ʿāfār, عفار Amh The Hedareb people include the Beni-Amer people who have retained the use of the Beja language, To-Bedawi (Hedareb Beni-Amer (Amir they are of the Beja family and occupy the borders between Sudan and Eritrea. The Beja (البيجا are an ethnic group dwelling in parts of North Africa and the Horn of Africa. The Kunama are a Nilotic ethnic group living in Eritrea and Ethiopia, making up only 2 percent of the population of Eritrea where they are one of the smallest The Nara are a Nilotic ethnic group living in Eritrea and make up less than 1% of the population The Saho, sometimes called Soho, are an ethnic group living largely in the Southern and Northern Red Sea regions of Eritrea, but some also live The Rashaida are a Bedouin people populating either side of the Red Sea. For other uses please see Tigre (disambiguation The Tigre are an ethnic group of north Eritrea who speak the Tigre language. The article has so much wrong statements Readers should not take it serious The Jebertis are Muslim Tigrinyas who consider themselves as a separate ethnicity, but are not recognized by other sources. The Jeberti (also spelled Jabarti, Jaberti, Jebarti) are a Tigrinya - and Arabic -speaking group mostly found in Eritrea A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion
- In Ethiopia: Amharas, Afars, Agaw groups, Gurages, Hamers, Hararis (also Hadere or Adere), the Irob (Catholic Sahos), Sidamas, Oromos, Saho, Somali, Tigrayans, as well as many other small groups (see also ethnicities listed at Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region) . Amhara ( Amharic: አማራ Ge'ez: አምሐራ is an Ethnic group in the central highlands of Ethiopia. The Agaw ( Ge'ez አገው Agaw, modern Agew) are a people of Ethiopia. Gurage is an ethnic group in Ethiopia. The Gurage people inhabit a semi-fertile semi-mountainous region in southwest Ethiopia, about 150 miles southwest The Hammere (also spelled Hamar) are a tribal people in southwestern Ethiopia. Harar (var Harrar, Hārer, Harer; Adari) is an eastern city in Ethiopia, and the capital of the modern Harari The Sidama ( Ethiopic: ሲዳማ people of southern Ethiopia are an ethnic group whose homeland is in the Sidama Zone of the Southern Nations Nationalities Somalis ( Soomaaliyeed, الصوماليون are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The article has so much wrong statements Readers should not take it serious Southern Nations Nationalities and People's Region (often abbreviated as SNNPR) is one of the nine ethnic divisions ( kililoch) of Ethiopia
- In Somalia: the Somali
Economy
States of the region depend largely on a few key exports:
- Ethiopia: Coffee 80% of total exports. Somalis ( Soomaaliyeed, الصوماليون are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. In Economics, an export is any good or Commodity, Transported from one country to another country in a Legitimate fashion CoFFEE is an Open source Software for computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL in a digital classroom
- Somalia: Bananas and livestock over 50% of total exports. For the fruit see Banana. For other meanings see Banana (disambiguation. Livestock is the term used to refer (singularly or plurally to a Domesticated Animal intentionally reared in an agricultural setting to produce such as Food
Ecology
The Horn of Africa is a Conservation International Biodiversity Hotspot and one of the two entirely arid ones. Conservation International (CI is a nonprofit organization headquartered in the Washington D A biodiversity hotspot is a Biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is threatened with destruction However the Horn of Africa suffers largely from overgrazing and only 5% of its original habitat still remains. Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to Livestock Grazing for extended periods of time or without sufficient recovery periods A habitat (which is Latin for "it inhabits" is an Ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular Species. On Socotra, another great threat is the development of infrastructure. Infrastructure typically refers to the technical structures that support a society such as Roads Water supply, Wastewater, Power grids
Fauna
About 220 mammals are found in the Horn of Africa. Mammals ( class Mammalia) are a class of Vertebrate Animals characterized by the presence of Sweat glands, including sweat glands Among threatened species of the region, we find several antelopes such as the beira, the dibatag, the silver dikdik and the Speke’s gazelle. In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. Antelope are Ruminant hoofed Mammals of the family Bovidae in the order of Even-toed ungulates. The Beira ( Dorcatragus megalotis) is a small Antelope that inhabits Arid regions of Somalia Djibouti and eastern Ethiopia The dibatag, or Clark's gazelle Ammodorcas clarkei, is an Antelope found in sandy grasslands of Ethiopia and Somalia. The Silver Dik-dik ( Madoqua piacentinii) is a small Antelope found in the Horn of Africa region mostly coastal Somalia. Speke's Gazelle ( Gazella spekei) is the smallest of the Gazelle Species. Other remarkable species include the Somali wild ass, the desert warthog, the Hamadryas Baboon, the Somali pygmy gerbil, the ammodile, and the Speke’s pectinator. The Somali Wild Ass ( Equus africanus somalicus) is a Subspecies of the African Wild Ass. UserPolbot. -->The Desert Warthog ( Phacochoerus aethiopicus) is a species of Even-toed ungulate in the The Hamadryas Baboon ( Papio hamadryas) is a Baboon from the Old World monkey family The Somalia gerbil, Gerbillus dunni, is distributed mainly in Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti. UserPolbot. -->The Ammodile or Walo ( Ammodillus imbellis) is a species of Rodent in the Gundis ( family Ctenodactylidae) are a group of small stocky Rodents found in Africa. The Grevy's zebra is the unique wild equid of the region. Equidae is the family of horse-like animals which belong to the order Perissodactyla.
Some important bird species of the Horn are the Bulo Burti boubou, the golden-winged grosbeak, the Warsangli linnet, or the Djibouti Francolin. Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. The Bulo Burti Boubou ( Laniarius liberatus) is a medium-sized Passerine Bird in the Bushshrike family The Genus Rhynchostruthus is a small group of Finches in the family Fringillinae. Introduction The Linnet, Carduelis cannabina, is a small Passerine Bird in the Finch family Fringillidae UserPolbot. -->The Djibouti Francolin ( Francolinus ochropectus) is one of several species of Francolin
The Horn of Africa holds more endemic reptiles than any other region in Africa, with over 285 species total (and about 90 species found exclusively in the region). Endemism is the Ecological state of being unique to a place Endemic species are not naturally found elsewhere Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia are air-breathing Cold-blooded Vertebrates that have skin covered in scales as opposed to hair or feathers Among endemic reptile genera, there are Haackgreerius, Haemodracon, Ditypophis, Pachycalamus and Aeluroglena. Haackgreerius is a Genus of Skinks Classification Genus Haackgreerius Haackgreerius miopus Haemodracon is a small Genus of rare Geckos from Socotra Island. Half of these genera are uniquely found on Socotra. Unlike reptiles, amphibians are poorly represented in the region. Prehistoric amphibian Amphibians (class Amphibia such as Frogs Toads Salamanders Newts Gymnophiona, Sirens and
There are about 100 species of freshwater fish in the Horn of Africa, about 10 of which are endemic. Freshwater is a word that refers to bodies of water such as Ponds lakes rivers and streams containing low concentrations of dissolved Salts and other Total dissolved Fish are aquatic Vertebrate animals that are typically ectothermic (previously Cold-blooded) covered with scales, and equipped with two Among the endemic, we find the cave-dwelling Somali blind barb and the Somali cavefish.
Flora
It is estimated that about 5,000 species of vascular plants are found in the Horn, about half of which are endemic. Vascular plants (also known as tracheophytes or higher plants) are those Plants that have lignified tissues for conducting Endemism is most developed in Socotra and Northern Somalia. Socotra or Soqotra ( Arabic سقطرى; Suquṭra) is a small Archipelago of four islands and islets in the Indian Ocean The region has two endemic plant families: the Barbeyaceae and the Dirachmaceae. In Biological classification, family ( Latin Barbeya oleoides is the only Species of its family ( Barbeyaceae) Dirachma is the sole Genus of the family Dirachmaceae. The genus has been Monotypic until a second species wasrecently discovered Among the other remarkable species, there are the cucumber tree found only on Socotra (Dendrosicyos socotrana), the Bankoualé palm, the yeheb nut, and the Somali cyclamen. Cordeauxia edulis, also known as the ye'eb, yeheb or jeheb nut is a species of tree from the monotypic genus Cordeauxia Cyclamen is a Genus of 20 Species of Flowering plants traditionally classified in the family Primulaceae, but in recent years
See also
- Aksumite Empire
- Adal Sultanate
- Land of Punt
- History of Djibouti
- History of Eritrea
- History of Ethiopia
- History of Somalia
- Conflicts in the Horn of Africa
External links
- History of the Horn of Africa
- Horn of Africa News Agency
- WWF- Somali Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets
- Horn of Africa Biodiversity Hotspot
- African Wild Dog Conservancy's Biodiversity Hotspots Page
- CIA World Factbook: Djibouti
- CIA World Factbook: Eritrea
- CIA World Factbook: Ethiopia
- CIA World Factbook: Somalia
- A 'Child Alert' issued by UNICEF for the Horn of Africa
- Yemen Horn of Africa Link
- Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa Official Website
- CFR.org Interactive Map: Horn of Africa
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic