Inda Sillasie
Inda Sillasie | |
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Municipality | |
UTC+3 (EAT ) |
Inda Sillasie is a tabia or municipality in the
Geography
The tabia stretches down from the foot of the Tsatsen ridge to Giba River, over a long ledge between the Inda Sillasie and Gra Agiam/Bitchoqo rivers. The highest peak is a hill at May Ch’elaqo (2330 m a.s.l.) and the lowest place is the confluence between Giba and Bitchoqo rivers (1440 m a.s.l.).
Geology
From the higher to the lower locations, the following geological formations are present:[1]
- Antalo Limestone
- Adigrat Sandstone
- Quaternary alluvium and freshwater tufa[2]
Geomorphology and soils
The main
- Associated soil types
- Inclusions
Climate and hydrology
Climate and meteorology
The rainfall pattern shows a very high seasonality with 70 to 80% of the annual rain falling in July and August. Mean temperature in Migichi is 21 °C, oscillating between average daily minimum of 11.9 °C and maximum of 29.6 °C. The contrasts between day and night air temperatures are much larger than seasonal contrasts.[4]
Rivers
The Giba River is the most important river in the surroundings of the tabia. It flows towards Tekezze River and further on to the Nile. This river and its affluents have incised deep gorges which characterise the landscape.[5] The drainage network of the tabia is organised as follows:[6]
- Giba River, forming the southern boundary of the tabia
- Inda Sillasie River, at the border of Inda Sillasie and Amanit; further upstream it is called Rubaksa River, in tabia Mika’el Abiy
- May Zegzeg River, at border of tabias Ayninbirkekin and Mika'el Abiy
- May Sho'ate River, at border of tabias Ayninbirkekin and Mika'el Abiy
- May Harena, in tabia Mika'el Abiy
- May Be'ati River, in tabia Ayninbirkekin
- May Zegzeg River, at border of tabias Ayninbirkekin and Mika'el Abiy
- Gra Adiam River, which becomes Bitchoqo River, at the border of tabias Amanit and Inda Sillasie
- Inda Sillasie River, at the border of Inda Sillasie and Amanit; further upstream it is called Rubaksa River, in tabia Mika’el Abiy
Whereas they are (nearly) dry during most of the year, during the main rainy season, these rivers carry high runoff discharges, sometimes in the form of flash floods. Especially at the beginning of the rainy season the water is brown-coloured, evidencing high soil erosion rates. For instance, in the rainy season the Inda Sillasie river, near its outlet, has an average discharge of 9 m3 per second, which amounts to 220 m3 per second during heavy storms.[7] Annually, some 60,000 tonnes of sediment are exported from the 121 km2 large catchment.
Springs
As there are no permanent rivers in the uplands, the presence of springs is of utmost importance for the local people. The main springs in the tabia are:[8]
- Very strong springs at Dabba Hadera monastery
- May Chelaqot in Akuwaw
- Indasillasie Gedam in the gorge, downslope from Indaslassie village
Water harvesting
In this area with rains that last only for a couple of months per year, reservoirs of different sizes allow harvesting runoff from the rainy season for further use in the dry season.
- Traditional surface water harvesting ponds, particularly in places without permanent springs, called rahaya
- Horoyo, household ponds, recently constructed through campaigns[9]
Vegetation and exclosures
The tabia holds several
- Addi Meles, near the village of Migichi (64.84 ha)
- Ch'elaqo, near the homonymous village (49.99 ha)
Settlements
The tabia centre Migichi holds a few administrative offices, a health post, a primary school, and some small shops.[8] There are a few more primary schools across the tabia. The main other populated places are:[6]
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Agriculture and livelihood
The population lives essentially from crop farming, supplemented with off-season work in nearby towns. The land is dominated by
History and culture
History
The history of the tabia is strongly confounded with the
Religion and churches
Most inhabitants are Orthodox Christians. The following churches are located in the tabia:
- Sillasie monastery
- Dabba Hadera monastery and well known destination of pilgrims
- Kidane Mihret, in the forest, South of Dabba Hadera
- Migichi Mika’el on top of a small mountain
Inda Siwa, the local beer houses
In the main villages, there are traditional beer houses (Inda Siwa), often in unique settings, where people socialise. Well known in the tabia centre are Kidan Gebretekle and Fetli Gebregziabher.[8]
Roads and communication
The main road
Tourism
Its mountainous nature makes the tabia fit for tourism.[26] As compared to many other mountain areas in Ethiopia the villages are quite accessible, and during walks visitors may be invited for coffee, lunch or even for an overnight stay in a rural homestead.[27] Dabba Hadera has grown into a pilgrimage centre where people stay for shorter or longer terms.
Touristic attractions
- Sillasie monastery
- Dabba Hadera monastery
Geotouristic sites
The high variability of geological formations and the rugged topography invite for geological and geographic tourism or "geotourism".[28] Geosites in the tabia include:
- Viewpoint from Migichi Mika’el church to the wider surroundings
- Limestone landscapes
- Deeply incised gorges
- Anthropogenic incense landscape on the slopes of Giba gorge
- Views on the Addi Lihtsilarge rockfall
Trekking routes
Trekking routes have been established in this tabia.[29] The tracks are not marked on the ground but can be followed using downloaded. GPX files.[30]
- Trek 8V, from Inda Maryam Qorarto Dabba Hadera monastery, a pilgrims’ way across the tabia
- Trek 9, from Inda Maryam Qorarto Sillasie monastery, a (less frequented) pilgrims’ way across the tabia
- Trek 10, from Giba Gorge, along the Inda Sillassie gorge to Rubaksa; this trek also passes near Dabba Hadera, Kidane Mihret and Sillasie monasteries
See also
- Dogu'a Tembiendistrict.
References
- ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
- .
- PMID 31639144.
- S2CID 199105560.
- S2CID 199099067.
- ^ ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
- S2CID 53365853.
- ^ a b c What do we hear from the farmers in Dogu'a Tembien? [in Tigrinya]. Hagere Selam, Ethiopia. 2016. p. 100.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - )
- .
- ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
- ^ Mastewal Yami, and colleagues (2007). "Impact of Area Enclosures on Density and Diversity of Large Wild Mammals: The Case of May Ba'ati, Douga Tembien Woreda, Central Tigray, Ethiopia". East African Journal of Sciences. 1: 1–14.
- S2CID 37489450.
- .
- .
- ^ Bedru Babulo, and colleagues (2006). "Economic valuation methods of forest rehabilitation in exclosures". Journal of the Drylands. 1: 165–170.
- ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
- ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
- ^ EthioTrees on Plan Vivo website
- ^ EthioTrees on Davines website
- S2CID 199113310.
- ^ De Deyn, Jonathan (2019). Benefits of reforestation on Carbon storage and water infiltration in the context of climate mitigation in North Ethiopia. Master thesis, Ghent University, Belgium.
- S2CID 128492271.
- S2CID 95207289.
- S2CID 199113310.
- S2CID 199294303.
- S2CID 199198251.
- S2CID 199095921.
- S2CID 199271514.
- ^ "Public GPS traces tagged with nyssen-jacob-frankl". OpenStreetMap. Retrieved 2019-10-11.