Geography of Ethiopia and the Horn PDF

Geography of Ethiopia and the Horn TEKLIT G/TINSAE, LECTURER  Chapter one: Introduction 1.1 The Science of Geography 1.2 The Location, Size and Shape of Ethiopia 1.3 Map Reading and Interpretation  1.1 The Science of Geography Brainstorming questions  What is geography?  What a...

Geography of Ethiopia and the Horn TEKLIT G/TINSAE, LECTURER  Chapter one: Introduction 1.1 The Science of Geography 1.2 The Location, Size and Shape of Ethiopia 1.3 Map Reading and Interpretation  1.1 The Science of Geography Brainstorming questions  What is geography?  What are its basic questions?  What are the branches of geography and their sub-fields of studies?  What is the scope of geography? How deep and wide is it?  What are the major themes of geography?  Geography Defined Geography Defined Etymologically, the term Geography had it origin from two Greek words: "Geo" = "earth” and "Graphos/Graphien" = "description/writing about”. Thus, literally, Geography is describing or writing about the earth. However, such definitions are vague and ambiguous. Therefore, it fails to give a clear image of what the discipline is all about. This necessitates the need for a complete, clear and scientific definition.  Cont'd As a science, "Geography is the study of the spatial distribution and organization of both human and natural/physical phenomena on the earth's surface as well as the two-way interaction and interdependence (relationship) that exists between the human and the natural environment". As such, geography is:  A spatial science that studies geographic phenomena from the perspective of place and space;  Cont'd  the study of the spatial distribution of phenomena: i.e.how things/phenomena are distributed/dispersed over the earth's surface or place;  The study of physical and human phenomena: natural phenomena, such as climate, vegetation, soil, water, animals, minerals, etc and human made phenomena, such as settlements, economicactivities, infrastructures, cultures, religion, etc;  the study of spatial interaction and interdependence: the relationship, two-way interaction and interdependence between the physical and human environment.  Basic Questions of Geography Principally, geography tries to give answers to the following basic questions. a. What? c. Why there? b. Where? d. When? a. What things are found in a certain geographical area? = the kind of physical and human phenomena that we have in the world at large or over a specific place on earth. b. Where are things (physical and human phenomena) found? = the placese where we have those phenomena, i.e. their location. c. Why are having those things/phenomena in the places where they are? = the justification/reason for the presence of those things in their places. d. When did those geographic phenomena come into existence/occur ? = the time/season during which those phenomena occur in their places.  Branches of Geography Geography has two major branches.  Physical Geo. studies the natural environment and naturally occuring phenomena. Eg. Landform geo/Geomorphology, climate geo/Climatology, soil geo/Pedology, Oceanography, Hydrology, Biogeo. (has two subfields; Zoogeograohy (animals) and Phytogeography (plants),  Human Geo studies the human environment and human made phenomena. Eg. Political geo, cultural geo, population geo/Demography, Urban geo, Settlement geo, Economic geo., Geography of Religion, Tourism geo., Historical geo.  The Scope of Geography The Scope of Geography is deep and wid. This doesn’t, however, mean that the scope of the subject is limitless. Geography‘s scope is limited to the five sphere of the earth. They are:  Lithosphere: the outermost layer of the planet, i.e. the earth’s crust. Eg. Geomorphology and Pedology;  Hydrosphere: the water surface of the planet. Eg. Hydrogeography and Oceanic geography;  Troposphere: the lowest part of the atmosphere where all the weather changes occur. Eg. Climate geography;  Anthroposphere: the cultural landscape of the earth. Eg. Cultural geo., Anthropogeo., Geography of Religion, Etc  Biosphere: all part of the earth that supports life. Eg. Biogeo.  The Themes of Geography The study of Geography revolves around five major themes. These are:  Location: the"where” of geographic phenomena which can be described eitherin absolute or relative terms;  Place and Space: how places look like, their physical and human characteristics and toponyms;  Movement: movement of peoples, goods and services, the flow of ideas, information, technology, finance and investment;  Regions: parts of the earth’s surface that possess more or less similar human and physical characteristics. They can be formal or functional regions; and  Human-Environment interaction: the everchanging everlasting relationships between humans and their environment that can be expressed in terms of Dependency, Adaptation and Modification. 1.2 Location, Size and Shape of Ethiopia The Location of Ethiopia Location: is the "where" of a place, a thing, an object or a phenomenon. It can be expressed in two was as Absolute/Mathematical/Astronomical location and Relative location. Absolute location tells the exact or precise location of a phenomenon by using the parallels of latitudes and meridians of longitudes. Ethiopia's absolute location is: 30N-150N latitudes and 330E-480E longitudes  Cont'd  From the absolute location Ethiopia, we can generalize that:  The country is found to the north of the Equator and east of the Greenwich meridian in the Northern and Eastern hemispheres;  The southern tip of the country lies at 3oN (Moyale), northern tip loes at 15oN (Badime), western tip lies at 33oE (Akobo, Gambella) and eastern tip lies at 48oE (Tip of Ogaden).  The north-south distance is 12o = 111kms×12o (1o=111kms) and west-east distance is 15o = 111kms×15o  The degree difference between the country’s north-south and west-east extension is only 3o (333kms)  Ethiopia is a Tropical country that is found in the Eastern Time Zone of the world (GMT+ Zone).  Cont’d  Relative location describes the location of a phenomenon in relation to landmasses, water bodies and neighboring countries (Vicinal location).  Ethiopia's relative location is described as follows. Ethiopia is found:  in Africa, Eastern Africa, Horn of Africa;  to the South of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea;  to the SW of the Arabian Peni Peninsula  to the NW of the Indian Ocean  to the South of Eritrea, North of Kenya, Southeast of the Sudan and East of South Sudan, West of Djibouti and NW of Somalia (Vicinal location).  Ethiopia shares its international border with the above six countries.  Cont'd Impacts of Ethiopia's location  climate – due to its latitudinal location, Ethiopia is a Tropical country. So the country experiences high angle of the sun all the year round, overhead sun from March – September, high mean annual temperature, almost equal day and night hours (length of the day);  Time – due to its longitudinal location, Ethiopia is in the GMT+3 Time Zone – it is, therefore, 3hrs ahead of the time at GMT;  Sociocultural ties - cultural contact, interaction and assimilation with the Middle East; and  Geopolitical advantage/Strategic significance location - close to the Arabian Peninsula and in the Horn.  Cont'd Ethiopia's Area (Size) Ethiopia is a large state with a total area of about 1,106,000 km2 It is 1st in the Horn, 8th in Africa and 25th in the World.  Cont'd Impacts of Ethiopia’s large area Advantages  diverse climate that ranges between Bereha and Wurch/Kur;  diverse vegetation that ranges from xerophytic vegetation to Alpine and sub-afro alpine vegetation;  diverse animal life of all sorts;  large area for settlement that can still accommodate additional population;  ample arable land that can still absorb more labor;  greater depth in defense that enables the country to retreat from the borders deep into the hinterland to reorganize its army and defend the country at times of external attacks.  Cont'd Disadvantages high cost of defense since the country needs large army and advanced military technology to defend its sovereignty and national unity; need for huge capital for infrastructural development such as roads, railways, pipelines, power and communication cables, social services like health and education; difficult to administer and maintain national unity and territorial integrity; difficult to integrate distant areas with the center as well as amongst themselves through different modes of transport and communication.  Cont'd Shape of Ethiopia  Shape is the external appearance/form of a place  A country’s shape can be compact (close to a circle having the shortest possibleboundarylength), elongated (linear/snake-like with one side being much longer than the other), fragmented (divided like those states that are made up of a number of islands i.e. Archipelagic states), perforated (a country that has a hole in it because it totally engulfs another sovereign state) or protruded (with one side being more compact while the other being elongated, it is also called pan-like or trancated). Theshape of a country can be measured by the following Indices of Compactness.  A/B ratio = Area of a country ÷ the boundary length of the same country.  B/C ratio = Total boundary length of a country ÷ the Circumference of the smallest Inscribing Circle  A/C ratio = Area of a country ÷ the Circumference of the smallest I scribing circle  A/A’ ratio = Areas of a country ÷ Area of the smallest inscribing circle  Cont'd Ethiopia's shape is relatively compact. As a result,  all places at the border are almost of equal distance from the country's geographic center with slight difference;  The country has shorter borderline to defend as compared to its large area giving the country a wider opportunity to defend large area by just defending a kilometer of its international boundary;  helped Ethiopia's national unity, territorial integrity and independence as almost all the borderlands are at of relatively equal distance from the center enabling the country to administer all its area more or less efficiently.  1.3 Map Reading and Interpretation Meaning of Map  A map is a simplified, plane (two-dimensional) representation of the whole or parts of the earth's surface that is drawn as if the earth were seen frm vertically above and reduced to scale. As such, maps are:  Simplified: are made in a simple and easily understandable manner through selection and omission of information and the use of map languages i.e. signs and sumbols;  Plane: drawn on flat surfaces (two-dimensional surfaces);  Canbe used to represent the whole earth i.e. World map, part of it i.e. Map of Africa, Ethiopia, Amhara Region or Addis Ababa;  Diminished: drawn to scale and reduced in size as representing the whole earth or part of it with its real size on maps is impossible;  Birds eye view: vertical view of the earth;  Cont'd Uses of Maps Maps are used to:  show location, both absolute and relative;  measure distance, area, direction, slope, etc of places;  show spatial distribution and organization of both physical and human phenomena;  show spatial interaction of both physical and human phenomena;  show trends, patterns, flow volumes … of phenomena;  Show and read & interpret landscapes.  Cont'd Types of Maps Based on their Purpose  General purpose/Reference/Topographic maps  Specific purpose/Thematic/Topical maps Based on the kind of information they convey  Physical maps: show natural phenomena  Cultural maps: show human made phenomena Based on Scale  Small scale maps: ≤ 1:250,000  Medium scale maps: 1:50,000 - 1:250,000  Large scale maps: ≥ 1:50,000  Cont'd Marginal Information of Maps part of a map that is not covered by the mapped area is called map margin. Map makers use this margin to write some information about the map to help map users to communicate with the map effectively. This information is called marginal information of maps.  Cont'd Marginal information of maps include: Title: tells what the map talks about Scale: shows the extent to which the mapped area has been reduced when represented on the map. North arrow: indicates the north of the mapped area. It is used to align the map north with the geographic north while measuring direction. Legend/Key: gives the meanings of the signs, symbols and abbreviation used in the map.  Cont'd Badic Skills required to effectively read a map  Knowledge of direction, bearings and how to measure them by using a compass or other traditional method;  skills of visualization: skills that enable map users create a 3-D image of the landscape represented i.e. ability to identify which features are mountains, which ones are hills, plains, plateaus, valleys,depressions, passes, shoulders, saddles, cliffs, up-slopes/down-slopes, etc;  knowledge on reading, interpreting & changing scales and understanding the legend/key. Marginal Information of Maps