The Shebelle River (with numerous spelling variations, including Shabele and Shabell, sometimes with Wabe or Webi prepended, Shabeelle in Somalia) begins in the highlands of Ethiopia, and then flows southeast into Somalia towards Mogadishu. Near Mogadishu it turns sharply southwest, where it follows the coast. Below Mogadishu the river becomes seasonal. Most years the river dries up near the mouth of the Jubba River, while in seasons of heavy rainfall the river actually reaches the Jubba and thus the Indian Ocean. Mogadishus location in Somalia Mogadishu (Somali: Muqdisho, popularly Xamar; Arabic: ‎ ; Italian: ), is the largest city in Somalia, and its nominal capital. ... The Jubba River is a river in Somalia. ...

Its name comes from the Somali language, "Wabi Shabele" meaning "Leopard/Tiger River." According to the Statistical Abstract of Ethiopia for 1967/68, the Shabele River is 1130 kilometers long, extending for 1000 kilometers inside Ethiopia and 130 inside Somalia. The river gives its name to the Somali administrative regions of Middle Shabele and Lower Shabele. The Somali language is a member of the East Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family. ... Middle Shabele (Somali: Shabeellaha Dhexe; Arabic: ‎ ) is an administrative region (gobolka) in southern Somalia. ... Shabeellaha Hoose, or Lower Shabele, is a region (gobolka) in southern Somalia. ...

In the past, the area of Shebelle River was very much affected by diseases transmitted by tsetse flies, but they seems now to be eradicated at least in some parts of the Shebelle valley. Binomial name Glossina morsitans The tsetse fly, Glossina morsitans, is a fly (order Diptera) that eats blood from animals, including humans. ... The Shebelle Valley or Shabeelle Valley is a valley in the Horn of Africa. ...

History

The source of the Shebelle River is venerated by both the Arsi Oromo and the Sidamo people. It is surrounded by a sacred enclosure wooded with juniper trees, which as of 1951 was under the protection of a Muslim member of the Arusi.^[1] The Sidama (or Sidamo) are an ethnic group whose homeland is in the Sidama Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region of Ethiopia. ... Species Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Turkish: Müslüman, Persian and Urdu: مسلمان, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of Islam. ...

In 1989 with the help of Soviet engineers, the Melka Wakena dam was built on the upper reaches of the Shebelle River in the Bale Mountains. Producing 153 megawatts, this dam is Ethiopia’s largest hydroelectric generator.^[2] 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Soviet redirects here. ... The Bale Mountains are a range of mountains in the Oromia Region of southeast Ethiopia, south of the Awash River. ... Hydroelectric dam diagram The waters of Llyn Stwlan, the upper reservoir of the Ffestiniog Pumped-Storage Scheme in north Wales, can just be glimpsed on the right. ...

In late April 2005, heavy rains generated widespread flooding throughout Somali Region, Ethiopia as well as Somalia, and caused the Shebelle River to burst its banks. In May of that year, the flooding in the Somali Region alone had caused over 100 confirmed deaths and widespread property damage affecting over 100,000 persons. The floods have also destroyed shelters housing 25,000 Somali refugees in Kenya. 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Somali is the eastern-most of the nine ethnic divisions (kililoch) of Ethiopia. ... The bed of this stream is made up of rocks, some very rounded (having had a longer life in the stream) and some not. ... Look up flood in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Notes

1. ^ J. Spencer Trimingham, Islam in Ethiopia (Oxford: Geoffrey Cumberlege for the University Press, 1952), p. 260.
2. ^ Lulseged Ayalew, "Something that We Need to Know about Our River’s Hydropower Potential". Accessed 20 April 2006

External links

• Map of the Shebelle River basin at Water Resources eAtlas
• Hydropolitics in the Horn of Africa
• "Ethiopia: Rains pound Somali region as death toll rises", IRIN, 5 May 2005
• "Floods plague Horn of Africa, wash away refugee shelters" - UN News