The Nile (Arabic: النيل, Eg. en-Nīl, Std. an-Nīl; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲁⲣⲱ, P(h)iaro; Ancient Egyptian: Ḥ'pī and Iteru) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is 6,853 km (4,258 miles) l…
Addis Ababa (Amharic: አዲስ አበባ? Addis Abäba, IPA: [ädˈdis ˈäbəbä], “new flower”; Oromo: Finfinne, [fɪnˈfɪ́n.nɛ́] "Natural Spring(s)"), sometimes spelled Addis Abeba (the spelling used by the official Ethiopian Mapping Authority), is the capital city …
The Battle of Adwa (also known as Adowa, or sometimes by the Italian name Adua) was fought on 1 March 1896 between the Ethiopian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy near the town of Adwa, Ethiopia, in Tigray.
The Afar Regional State (Afar: Qafar; Amharic: አፋር ክልል?) is one of the nine regional states (kililoch) of Ethiopia, and is the homeland of the Afar people.
Lalibela is a town in northern Ethiopia famous for monolithic rock-cut churches. Lalibela is one of Ethiopia's holiest cities, second only to Aksum, and a center of pilgrimage. Unlike Aksum, the population of Lalibela is almost completely Ethiopian …
The Blue Nile (Amharic: ዓባይ?; transliterated: ʿAbbay but pronounced Abbai, Arabic: النيل الأزرق an-Nīl al-Azraq) is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. With the White Nile, the river becomes one of the two major tributaries of the Nile. T…
Gondar or Gonder (Amharic: ጎንደር?, Gonder or Gondär; formerly ጐንደር, Gʷandar or Gʷender) is a city and separate woreda in Ethiopia. Located in the Semien Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, Gondar is north of Tana Lake on the Lesser Angereb River and so…
Adama (Oromo: Adaamaa or Hadaamaa; Amharic: አዳማ, Ädama, Ādama), also known as Nazret or Nazreth (Amharic: ናዝሬት?, Nazret), is a city in central Ethiopia and the previous capital of the Oromia Region. Adama forms a Special Zone of Oromia and is surrou…
Oromia (spelled Oromiyaa in the Oromo language; Amharic: ኦሮምያ?) is one of the nine ethnically-based regional states of Ethiopia, covering 284,538 square kilometers. It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region …
Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (IATA: ADD, ICAO: HAAB) serves the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is located in the Bole area, 6 km (3.7 mi) southeast of the city centre and 65 km (40 mi) north of Debre Zeyit. The airport was formerly know…
Harar, formerly written Harrar and known to its inhabitants as Gey, is a walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It was formerly the capital of Harergey and now the capital of the modern Harari ethno-political division (or kilil) of Ethiopia. The city is l…
Erta Ale (or Ertale or Irta'ale) is a continuously active basaltic shield volcano in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia. It is situated in the Afar Depression, a badland desert area spanning the border with Eritrea.
The Ethiopian Highlands is a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia, situated in the Horn region in Northeast Africa. It forms the largest continuous area of its altitude in the continent, with little of its surface falling below 1500 m (4,921 ft), wh…
The Omo remains are a collection of hominid bones discovered between 1967 and 1974 at the Omo Kibish sites near the Omo River, in Omo National Park in south-western Ethiopia. The bones were recovered by a scientific team from the Kenya National Muse…
Addis Ababa University (Amharic: አዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ?) is a state university in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. Originally called the University College of Addis Ababa at its establishment in 1950, it was later renamed Haile Selassie I University i…
The Church of St. George (Amharic: Bete Giyorgis?) is one of eleven monolithic churches in Lalibela, a city in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia.
Ardi (ARA-VP-6/500) is the designation of the fossilized skeletal remains of an Ardipithecus ramidus, believed to be an early human-like 4.4 million years old.
Ogaden (pronounced and often spelled Ogadēn; Somali: Ogaadeen, Amharic: ኦጋዴን?) is the territory comprising the southeastern portion of the Somali Regional State in eastern Ethiopia. The inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Somali and Muslim.
Lake Tana (also spelled T'ana, Amharic: ጣና ሐይቅ?, Ṭana Ḥäyq, T’ana Hāyk’; an older variant is Tsana, Ge'ez ጻና Ṣānā; sometimes called "Dembiya" after the region to the north of the lake) is the source of the Blue Nile and is the largest lake in Ethiop…
Tigray Region (ትግራይ ክልል Tigrāy Kilil) is the northernmost of the nine ethnic regions (kililoch) of Ethiopia. Containing the homeland of the Tigray people, it was formerly known as Region 1.
The Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion (Amharic: ርዕሰ አድባራት ቅድስተ ቅዱሳን ድንግል ማሪያም ፅዮን Re-ese Adbarat Kidiste Kidusan Dingel Maryam Ts’iyon) is the most important church in Ethiopia, and claims to contain the Ark of the Covenant. It is located in the town …
The Afar Triangle (also called the Afar Depression) is a geological depression that is caused by the Afar Triple Junction, which is part of the Great Rift Valley. It overlaps Eritrea, Djibouti and the entire Afar Region of Ethiopia. The depression i…
Sodo or Wolaita Sodo is a town and separate woreda in south-central Ethiopia. The administrative center of the Wolaita Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region, it has a latitude and longitude of (6°54′N37°45′E) with an eleva…
Dire Dawa (Amharic: ድሬ ዳዋ?, Oromo: Dirre Dhawaa, lit. "Place of Remedy", Somali: Dir Dhabe, meaning "Limit of the Dir") is one of two chartered cities (astedader akabibi) in Ethiopia (the other being the capital, Addis Ababa).
Bahir Dar or Bahar Dar (Amharic: ባሕር ዳር?, Baḥər Dar, “sea shore”) is a city in north-western Ethiopia.
Amhara (Amharic: አማራ?) is one of the nine ethnic divisions (kililoch) of Ethiopia, containing the homeland of the Amhara people.
The Somali Region (Somali: Gobolka Soomaalida) is the easternmost of the nine ethnic divisions (kililoch) of Ethiopia. It is often called Soomaali Galbeed ("Western Somalia")or Ogaden on account of its geographical position within the Greater Somali…
Wuchale (also spelled Uccialli) is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located about 40 km north of Dessie in the Debub Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of (11°30′N39°36′E) and an elevation of 1711 m.
Dallol (Amharic: ዳሎል) was a settlement in the Dallol woreda of northern Ethiopia. Located in Administrative Zone 2 of the Afar Region in the Afar Depression, it has a latitude and longitude of (14°14′19″N40°17′38″E) with an elevation of about 130 m…
Shewa (Ge'ez ሽዋ šawā, modern šewā also spelled Shoa) is a historical region of Ethiopia, formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire.
Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (often abbreviated as SNNPR; Amharic: የደቡብ ብሔር ብሔረሰቦችና ህዝቦች ክልል?) is one of the nine ethnic divisions (kililoch) of Ethiopia. It was formed from the merger of the former Regions 7-11 following the…
Mekelle (Tigrinya: መቐለ?, Amharic: መቐለ or መቀሌ?), also transliterated as Makale or Meqele, is the capital city in the northern Tigray Region of Ethiopia. It is located around 780 kilometers north of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, at a latitude and…
Shashamane (or Shashemene, ሻሸመኔ) is a town and a separate woreda in West Arsi Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia. The town lies on the Trans-African Highway 4 Cairo-Cape Town, about 150 miles (240 km) from the capital of Addis Ababa.
The Danakil Desert is a desert in northeast Ethiopia, southern Eritrea, and northwestern Djibouti. Situated in the Afar Triangle, it stretches across 100,000 square kilometres (10,000,000 ha) of arid terrain. The area is known for its volcanoes and …
Hadar (also spelled Adda Da'ar; Afar "treaty [ahdi] stream [d'ar]") is a village in Ethiopia, on the southern edge of the Afar Triangle.
Adwa (Amharic: ዓድዋ?; also spelled Adowa, Aduwa) is a market town and separate woreda in northern Ethiopia. It is best known as the community closest to the decisive Battle of Adowa fought in 1896 with Italian troops. Notably, Ethiopian soldiers won …