Maps Page on Ethiopia

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Outline

1. Physical Environment
• First map name
• Second map name
• Third map name
2. Weather & Climate
• First map name
• Second map name
• Third map name
3. Human Environment
• First map name
• Second map name
• Third map name
4. Road maps
• First map name
• Second map name
• Third map name
5. City Maps
• First map name
• Second map name
• Third map name
6. Urban Transportation Maps
• First map name
• Second map name
• Third map name
7. Tourist Maps
• First map name
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• Third map name

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1 Physical Environment

https://www.freeworldmaps.net/africa/ethiopia/map.html

The map is meant to show a general idea of where Ethiopia is located. Ethiopia is surrounded by the countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya, Somalia, Somaliland, Djibouti, and Eritrea in sub-Saharan Africa. It is the 10^th largest country in Africa with a population of around 110 million. This region is typically considered a hot spot of political activity and considered a less traveled destination when it comes to tourism.

https://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/ethiopia/etland.htm

A map that shows some of the physical characteristics of the country can be seen above. Ethiopia varies from highlands to low desert. The map also shows one of the reasons I chose this destination and that is the Great Rift Valley. You can also see why this region is considered the horn of Africa by the shape of its border. It also shows some of the mountain ranges and lakes.

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/River-basin-map-of-Ethiopia_fig5_260144344

I chose this map as a physical map as it shows some of the basins and water sources. This could probably go under the next category, but I felt this map gives the reader an idea on the physical topography of the region which is often considered to be complex.

2 Weather & Climate

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Spatial-variability-of-the-mean-annual-rainfall-in-Ethiopia_fig3_260144344

Because of the complex topography and heavy rainfall this annual rainfall map can show you how much water is received in each labeled basin. Rainy months are considered June-August and often during this period flooding is common as the water systems capacity become exacerbated.

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/10/11/1560

Elevation is important aspect to take into consideration for climate as temperatures may vary widely from more elevated areas to the lower. A large portion of the population is located along the Ethiopian highlands and the Great Rift Valley. A 4600-meter change in elevation in 500 miles seems like a drastic change and may be a good explanation on why the water systems become unable to handle the water flow during rainy season. The Awash basin which is highlighted here is important because the largest river runs into this space. During dry season it is less than 5 feet deep but during the rainy season it can get to 60 feet deep!

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_ETH_present.svg

To sum up the climate, I figured a map that showed the climate type was a reasonable choice. You can corelate that the arid desert areas are not receiving as much water as well as that the tropical areas being where most of the population resides and where most of the rainfall occurs. It highlights greatly the complex topography that I’ve been reading about. The land along the mountain ranges essentially is the bearer of all that rain. I did not realize that Ethiopia had such a tropical environment.

3 Human Environment

https://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/maps/gallery/search/5?facets=region:asia&facets=region:africa

I have mentioned already, and you can see here that most of the population is grouped into the Western region. With plentiful water season this could have had an impact on why people settled in this region. You can also see a disparity in population size of settlements. There are many smaller villages of less than 50,000 people while there’s several 50-500,000 with the primary settlement and capital of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa with a population over 5 million people.

https://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/grump-v1-population-density/maps/3

This follow up map offers more depth to where people are in terms of density by person per square km. Ethiopians measure using metrics. Again, you can correlate natural characteristics to population location. Nobody is living in the desert which could mean fewer resources such as water as well as its location to Somalia which is often considered the pirate capital of the world. To compare to America, we have 90 people per square mi. This is just over the average of Ethiopia, but America is many times bigger as far as land mass goes 9X to be exact.

https://reliefweb.int/map/ethiopia/ethiopia-number-needy-population-region-2006

I had a more difficult time finding a map showing economic factors and this map of the number of needy people by region was the best that I could conjure up. I feel it does show appropriate data that is consistent on how we know populations to move and settle. Again, the desert region shows the most need for economic help. I find this due to likely low employment options, safety factors and resources. I do find the SNNP (Great Rift Valley) region as interesting as it needs more help as this is worse than Somali region. The economy consist of subsistence agriculture, coffee, khat (tobacco like drug), horticulture, mining and tourism.

4 Road Maps

https://www.mapsofworld.com/ethiopia/road-map.html

This map shows the basic transportation system as far as roads are concerned. It should help in identifying travel between places. It highlights major cities from smaller towns as well as gives a good sense of distances. A common theme is major roads only appear to be in the heavier population areas as supposed to the areas we have discussed as being less populated. This can help identify how easily one could commute as well as a sign that certain areas such as the “horn” on the Eastern side where it may not be as easily traveled with no major roads as more difficult.

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-Ethiopia-Depicting-the-Proximity-of-Medium-and-Large-Sized-Towns-to-Main-Asphalt_fig3_328861250

This map is similar as it shows a lot of the same data but also shows a buffer. I presume that roads are not as cut and dry as we may find in the West so it should be seen as a good reminder that traveling off the beaten path may not be as easy or clear as what you see on a map. It is no surprise that all activity snakes its way out of the capital city of Addis Ababa. Another thing to note is the river system that is not labeled but present on the map.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/476818679297107439/

I cannot believe that there weren’t many road maps that were simple and easy to view. This seems to come out of an atlas as the date is unknown. From the original you can see the major road systems complete with everything you expect to find on an atlas road map. You can also see by the green highlighted zones the different political areas or tribes/communities. In the US I suppose we call them states but here they would be called providences and there are 12 of them.

5 City Maps

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/175007135492818581/

Being that the Capital is Addis Ababa I thought it would be important to include the city map that shows street names as well as halls, important buildings such as hospitals, police stations and churches. There are no real straight streets which is important to consider as this is probably a very busy area. Maps were one of the harder portions of this assignment as many areas have experienced more modern city planning and development as of late. Either way it may come in handy when it comes to just exploring this city from the get-go.

https://vdocuments.mx/dire-dawa-city-tourist-map.html

This second map is a map of another large city that is named Dire Dawa. This was also another map that was hard to locate. Although it doesn’t show street names it does show a legend that can point you to hotels, food, churches, hospitals, transportation hubs, phones and shopping areas. Even with a minimalized map as this I think if I were to find myself here, I would be able to locate these places via this map.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Awassa_Town_Map.jpg

The last map was meant to be a map of Mekelle in the Northern part of Ethiopia but was unable to locate a reasonable map to use. This map of Awassa was a second choice but this does show much of the important locations such as gas stations, entertainment, post offices, hotels, churches and food. This map was not intended for commercial use. It also differentiates paved roads from minor to major which seems to be an important aspect to consider when traveling. If I learned anything from A long way down, it was that traveling is not easy in Africa.

6 Urban Transportation

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Rail_transport_in_Ethiopia

This first map takes into consideration the most popular routes of travel and most used, being the railways. As you can see you have a main line (red) which has sprouting corridors to other populated areas. One to the SE/SW(yellow), one covering N/S (turquoise) and another covering E/W (purple). If I were to use this system, I would feel confident knowing where I’m going and the limitations of each route. I also notice a southern route being built connecting travel from Kenya to the south or to Djibouti in the East. This map also shows a population estimate to help you identify larger areas. Again, you can see not much exist in that horn to the East.

https://www.thetraveler.net/images/map/ethiopia/map-ethiopia-distances-1000.jpg

The second map gives the viewer a good depiction of travel via plane and or vehicle. It gives time estimates which would be extremely helpful in understanding the landscape. It states that the roads are typically not in good shape so that would be important to know as well as the likeliness of needing a translator if venturing off road. It also mentions three wheelers that are common to rent for short journeys. You can also see again that the capital city is the hub and almost everything cycles through it.

https://bitsofaddis.tumblr.com/post/92535837344/it-took-me-a-while-to-find-a-map-of-the-minibus

To include all modes of transportation I was happy to find the minibus map plan for Addis Ababa. I will need to research more into this, but the routes are color coded but do not mention time frames etc. It also shows the airport as well as destination routes to other villages if leaving from Addis. Just as the topography was complicated so does transportation. Having examined all options would be important in determining the best ways to move about the country and or cities.

7 Tourist Sites

https://favpng.com/png_view/motorcycle-ambulance-ethiopia-tourist-attraction-ethiopia-tourism-map-accommodation-png/F8ngy80R

For the tourist section, I started with a simple map that highlights the main tourist traps. It appears that this includes mostly national parks from the looks of this map but that is not all there is, so I had to look for different maps to get more specific examples of tourist ideas. From this map it can help you identify nearby towns or cities and which park and where that park is located. Other than that, it is not as detailed as other maps but may be helpful in the planning of excursions out to explore the country. It also helps gain an understanding of your location.

http://travelsfinders.com/ethiopia-map-tourist-attractions.html

I enjoyed this map although it is busy. It shows some visuals that are less boring than the first map. From this I can’t clearly see where the parks are, but I see the visual aspect that clearly shows more water activity than you would think judging from the landscape. I had talked about water being abundant during rainy seasons but judging by this picture it seems to be an important part of tourism here too.

https://www.thetraveler.net/images/map/ethiopia/map-ethiopia-regions-1000.jpg

This last map is from the best source I found while researching for this assignment. It’s easy to read and simple. It breaks the country into regions, highlighting the important parts of each. From this map I can conclude that traveling west may be difficult due to safety concerns. The North is considered a must see due to historical archeology and importance to the history. I was surprised to find the East as offering much but according to this map it may be worth visiting the city of Harar. And of course, you cannot forget about the most intriguing part of the country for me in the Great Rift Valley in the South with lakes and architecture abound. This somewhat contradicts info taken from previous maps. Perhaps I’ll take a second look into the feasibility and safety of traveling here.

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Submitted by Nate Wallace on 3/6/2020