Awash National Park is a national park located in Ethiopia. It is found at the border between the Oromia state and the Afar state. The park covers an area of 827 square kilometers (319 square miles), and most of it is at an altitude of 900 meters (3,000 feet). The park covers parts of the southern tip of the Afar Region and the northeastern corner of the East Shewa Zone in Oromia. It is 225 kilometers (140 miles) east of Addis Ababa, and it is a few kilometers west of Awash and east of Metehara.

The park is well known for its wide variety of plant and animal life, as well as its rural landscapes. The area experiences two rainy seasons, followed by a long dry season that can last up to 10 months.

History

The Awash National Park was created in 1966. However, the law that allowed its creation was not fully approved until three years later. When the park and the Metehara Sugar Plantation to the south were established, the ways of life of the indigenous Karayyu Oromo people were put at risk. This outcome was opposite to the Ethiopian government's original goal of helping the local population.

Geography

Awash National Park is located along the Awash River to the south and covers an area of 850 km² (330 sq mi), which includes acacia forest and grassland. The Addis Ababa–Dire Dawa highway runs through the park, dividing the Illala Saha Plains in the south from the Kudu Valley in the north. To the south of the park, the Awash River gorge contains notable waterfalls, such as the Awash Falls. In the upper Kudu Valley near Filwoha, hot springs are found among groves of palm trees along the riverbed. The park also includes Mount Fentale, a dormant stratovolcano located in the western part of the park at an elevation of 2,007 m (6,585 ft) above sea level.

Ecology

Awash National Park's plant life is divided into four types of environments: dry Acacia woodlands, thorn-covered bushlands, open grasslands where animals graze, and wet areas near rivers. Doum palm trees and Desert date trees grow in scattered areas of the Filwoha and Doha sections of the park, which provide a suitable habitat for many types of mammals, birds, and reptiles.

Awash National Park is home to more than 81 species of mammals and 43 species of reptiles. Beisa oryxes are often seen here because their populations are stable. Other animals that live in the park include aardvarks, aardwolves, caracals, servals, hippos, crested porcupines, spotted hyenas, striped hyenas, lions, leopards, cheetahs, Soemmerring's gazelles, Defassa waterbucks, spotted-necked otters, rock hyraxes, klipspringers, Salt's dik-diks, lesser kudus, greater kudus, and warthogs. Swayne's hartebeests were moved to the park to help their population grow, but their numbers have dropped, and their presence is uncertain due to changes in the environment. Primates such as olive baboons, guerezas, grivets, and hamadryas baboons are commonly found throughout the park's different environments. Animals like elephants, rhinos, zebras, and Cape buffalo were once in the park since the 1960s but are no longer there because of hunting, population loss, and habitat destruction.

Nile crocodiles live in the river valleys and gorges of Awash, while rock pythons are found in riverine forests and hot spring oases. Leopard tortoises are rarely seen in savanna grasslands and dry thickets, where they feed. This is the only tortoise species listed in the park. Venomous snakes, such as the saw-scaled viper, puff adder, rhombic night-adder, black mamba, eastern pallid spitting cobra, and black-necked spitting cobra, are often found in the park's ecosystems and can be dangerous if encountered. Other reptiles, such as geckos, skinks, agamas, snakes, and monitors, are commonly found in dry scrublands and wet river areas.

The park is also home to 453 species of native birds, including Somali ostriches, lappet-faced vultures, white-bellied go-away-birds, crested francolins, white-headed buffalo weavers, chestnut-headed sparrow-larks, northern carmine bee-eaters, kori bustards, Abyssinian rollers, Abyssinian ground hornbills, red-billed hornbills, and brown snake-eagles. Seven species found only in this region, such as the wattled ibis, black-winged lovebird, banded barbet, yellow-throated seedeater, Abyssinian woodpecker, white-billed starling, and thick-billed raven, are part of the park's unique biodiversity.