Landscape/Topography

The topography/ landscape of SNNPRS is characterized by rugged land features with plenty of massif plateaus, and plains that have a large number of permanent and intermittent rivers flowing to the lakes. The altitudinal variation of the region ranges between 376m asl, at lake Rudolf in Debub Omo zone to 4207m asl. on the  Guge Mountain in Gamo-Gofa zone. The region is bisected by both the Great Rift Valley and Omo River Valley system.

Mountains

The Mountain ranges runs northeast to southeast dividing the Omo watershed from that of the rift valley lakes. West of the Omo is the southwest extension of the plateau which has a very broken landscape or has a relatively rugged land features than that of the eastern side.   The Mountains of the Region have

magnificent scenery and are the sources of many rivers and springs. The most glorious mountains of the Region includes: the terrain of Bench-Maji, Kaffa, Sheka, Dawro-Konta and Yem are under the western bisection and in this region the Maji, Yeki, Sherta, Tocha-Tuta, mountains and the Benchi Massifs are some of the prominent peaks. Guge Mountain, the highest mountain with a peak rising about 4207 m a.s.l, found in Gamo-Gofa. Germba Mountain in Sidamo 3321m a.s.l., Dello mountain in Amaro Special Woreda 3232m a.s.l., Ambericho mountain in Kembata Timbaro 3058m a.s.l., and Mugo mountain in Silte Zones 3000m a.s.l. Sanjia & Soyama Mountains are some of the high mountains found east of Omo River basin. Most of these highlands (particularly the western) covered with rain forest.

The Great Rift Valley

The Great Rift Valley is a unique geographical feature, which cuts Ethiopia in to two. It is the only geographical feature of the plane earth visible from the moon. This vast valley is rich in water bodies that host indigenous and migrant birds and animals of varying species.

The Ethiopian Rift Valley, part of the famous East African Rift Valley, is typical feature of the SNNPRS. The valley comprises numerous hot springs, beautiful lakes and a variety of wildlife. The Great Rift Valley’s passage through SNNPRS is marked by a chain of five main Lakes ( Hawassa,  Abaya, Chamo, Chew Bahir and Rudolf( found on the border with Kenya).. Each of the lakes has its own special life and character and provides ideal habitats for the variety of flora and fauna that make the region a beautiful and exotic destination for tourists.

Lower Omo Valley

The lower Omo River valley in southwest Ethiopia is one of the last unspoiled wilderness regions in Africa. The Omo River, which bisects Ethiopia’s largest and most inaccessible parks mainly, feeds the valley. The Omo National Park, which lies on its west bank and Mago National Park on its east Bank.  The Omo River is an important river of southern Ethiopia. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia, and empties into Lake Turkana (Rudolf) on the border with Kenya. It is the principal River basin in the country; the part that the Omo basins drainages includes some part of the western Oromia Region (in the upper stream area) and large portion of (Middle & Lower valley) of the SNNPRS.

The lower valley of the Omo unlike any other place on Earth has the largest diversity of ethnically different groups in the whole of Ethiopia and possibly in Africa. There are more than 16 different languages spoken (excluding dialects).The entire Omo region is inhabited by ethno-cultural groups pertaining to two important linguistic lines: Nilo-Saharan and Afro-Asiatic. The Nilo-Saharan linguistic line includes Bume, Mursi and Surma while The Afro-Asiatic line is comprised of Karo, Banna, Bashada, Hamar, and Dizi who are Omotic and Dassanech, Erbore, Tsamako who are Eastern Cushitic..

The Lower Valley of the Omo River is rich in Paleo-anthropolgical fossils and a prehistoric site where many hominid fossils have been found so far. . They are of fundamental importance in the study of human evolution. Several hominid fossils and archaeological localities, dating to the Pliocene and Pleistocene, have been excavated by French and American teams. Fossils belonging to the genera Australopithecine and Homo have been found at several archaeological sites, as well as tools made from quartzite, the oldest of which date back to about 2.4 million years ago.

The main ethnic groups in the Lower Omo Region and its surroundings includes, Konso, Tsemai, Erbore, Hamer, Benna, Dassench, Karo, Nagngatom, Mursi, Ari, Surma, Muguji, Meeniet., . The dry season (July to August and December to January) is the best time to visit the entire Lower Omo Valley and its people.