Seret (Dogu'a Tembien) Explained

Official Name:Seret
Other Name:Inda Maryam Qorar
Pushpin Map:Ethiopia
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within Ethiopia
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Ethiopia
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Name1:Tigray
Subdivision Type2:Zone
Subdivision Name2:Debub Misraqawi (Southeastern)
Subdivision Type3:Woreda
Subdivision Name3:Dogu'a Tembien
Area Total Km2:19.72
Population As Of:2007
Population Total:8343
Population Density Km2:423
Timezone:EAT
Utc Offset:+3
Coordinates:13.5833°N 47°W
Elevation M:2630

Seret is a tabia or municipality in the Dogu'a Tembien district of the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. The tabia centre is in Inda Maryam Qorar village, located approximately 11 km to the southwest of the woreda town Hagere Selam.

Geography

The tabia occupies a (locally wide) structural flat on the foot of the Tsatsen plateau, along the main road. It occupies a saddle position between the Upper Tanqwa and Zeyi River gorges. The highest location is the Tsatsen plateau (culminating at 2810 m a.s.l.) and the lowest place near Zeyi cave (2180 m a.s.l.).

Geology

From the higher to the lower locations, the following geological formations are present:[1]

Geomorphology and soils

On the basalt rocks, the red-black soil catena[2] is widespread: reddish soils such as Luvisols in the uplands and dark Vertisols in the plain around Inda Maryam. Here, the Vertisols are covered with stones, what evidences the vertic movements; they are also very prone to gully erosion.[3] The main geomorphic unit is the Hagere Selam Highlands. Corresponding soil types are:[4]

See also: Soil in Dogu'a Tembien.

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 Inda Maryam is 17 °C, oscillating between average daily minimum of 9.4 °C and maximum of 24.3 °C. The contrasts between day and night air temperatures are much larger than seasonal contrasts.[5]

Rivers

The Giba River and its tributary the Tanqwa are the most important rivers in the surroundings of the tabia. They flow towards Tekezze River and further on to the Nile. These rivers have incised deep gorges which characterise the landscape.[6] The drainage network of the tabia is organised as follows:[7]

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, they are brown-coloured, evidencing high soil erosion rates.

Springs

As there are no permanent rivers, the presence of springs is of utmost importance for the local people. The main springs in the tabia are:[8]

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.

Settlements

The tabia centre Inda Maryam Qorar holds a few administrative offices, a health post, a primary school, and some small shops. Saturday is the market day.[8] There are a few more primary schools across the tabia. The main other populated places are:[7]

The latter two villages are the highest villages of this part of Tigray, on the Tsatsen plateau, at an elevation of approximately 2800 metres.

Agriculture and livelihood

The population lives essentially from crop farming, supplemented with off-season work in nearby towns. The land is dominated by farmlands which are clearly demarcated and are cropped every year. Hence the agricultural system is a permanent upland farming system.[10] The farmers have adapted their cropping systems to the spatio-temporal variability in rainfall.[11] The introduction of apples for cultivation in backyards by smallholder farmers[12] was especially successful in Mashih, some 5 km to the east of Inda Maryam.

History and culture

History

The history of the tabia is strongly confounded with the history of Tembien.

Religion and churches

Most inhabitants are Orthodox Christians. The following churches are located in the tabia:

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 are[8]

Roads and communication

The main road Mekelle – Hagere Selam – Abiy Addi crosses the tabia. There are regular bus services to these towns. Further, a rural access road links Mashih, Mezegat and Duwele to the main asphalt road.

Schools

Almost all children of the tabia are schooled,[13] though in some schools there is lack of classrooms, directly related to the large intake in primary schools over the last decades. Schools in the tabia include Mashih school.

Tourism

Its mountainous nature and proximity to Mekelle make the tabia fit for tourism.[14] 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. In Inda Maryam Qorar there are very basic hotels, mainly used by pilgrims on their way to Dabba Hadera monastery.[15]

Touristic attractions

Geotouristic sites

The high variability of geological formations and the rugged topography invite for geological and geographic tourism or "geotourism".[16] Geosites in the tabia include:

Trekking routes

Trekking routes have been established, with starting point in Inda Maryam Qorar'.[17] The tracks are not marked on the ground but can be followed using downloaded .GPX files.[18]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Sembroni . A. . Molin . P. . Dramis . F. . Regional geology of the Dogu'a Tembien massif. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains — The Dogu'a Tembien District . 2019 . SpringerNature . 978-3-030-04954-6 .
  2. Book: Deckers . J. and colleagues . Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains . Understanding Soil Spatial Patterns for Sustainable Development . GeoGuide . 2019 . 361–372 . SpringerNature . 978-3-030-04954-6 . 10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_24 . 199097945 .
  3. Moeyersons . Jan . Nyssen . Jan . Poesen . Jean . Deckers . Jozef . Mitiku Haile . June 2006 . On the origin of rock fragment mulches on Vertisols: A case study from the Ethiopian highlands . Geomorphology . en . 76 . 3–4 . 411–429 . 10.1016/j.geomorph.2005.12.005. 2006Geomo..76..411M .
  4. Nyssen. Jan. Tielens. Sander. Gebreyohannes. Tesfamichael. Araya. Tigist. Teka. Kassa. Van De Wauw. Johan. Degeyndt. Karen. Descheemaeker. Katrien. Amare. Kassa. Haile. Mitiku. Zenebe. Amanuel. Munro. Neil. Walraevens. Kristine. Gebrehiwot. Kindeya. Poesen. Jean. Frankl. Amaury. Tsegay. Alemtsehay. Deckers. Jozef. Understanding spatial patterns of soils for sustainable agriculture in northern Ethiopia's tropical mountains. . PLOS ONE . 2019 . 14 . 10 . e0224041 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0224041. 31639144. 6804989. 2019PLoSO..1424041N. free.
  5. Book: Jacob . M. and colleagues . Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains . Dogu'a Tembien's Tropical Mountain Climate . GeoGuide . 2019 . 45–61 . SpringerNature . 978-3-030-04954-6 . 10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_3 . 199105560 .
  6. Book: Amanuel Zenebe . and colleagues . Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains . The Giba, Tanqwa and Tsaliet Rivers in the Headwaters of the Tekezze Basin . GeoGuide . 2019 . 215–230 . SpringerNature . 978-3-030-04954-6 . 10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_14 . 199099067 .
  7. Book: Jacob . M. and colleagues . Geo-trekking map of Dogu'a Tembien (1:50,000). In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains — The Dogu'a Tembien District . 2019 . SpringerNature . 978-3-030-04954-6 .
  8. Book: What do we hear from the farmers in Dogu'a Tembien? [in Tigrinya] ]. 2016 . Hagere Selam, Ethiopia . 100 .
  9. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3763/ijas.2008.0366 Developers and farmers intertwining interventions: the case of rainwater harvesting and food-for-work in Degua Temben, Tigray, Ethiopia
  10. Nyssen. J.. Naudts. J.. De Geyndt. K.. Haile. Mitiku. Poesen. J.. Moeyersons. J.. Deckers. J.. Soils and land use in the Tigray highlands (Northern Ethiopia) . Land Degradation and Development . 2008 . 19 . 3. 257–274 . 10.1002/ldr.840. 2008LDeDe..19..257N. 128492271.
  11. Frankl . A. and colleagues . The effect of rainfall on spatio-temporal variability in cropping systems and duration of crop cover in the Northern Ethiopian Highlands . Soil Use and Management . 2013 . 29 . 3 . 374–383 . 10.1111/sum.12041 . 2013SUMan..29..374F . 1854/LU-3123393 . 95207289 . free .
  12. Dereje Ashebir . and colleagues . Growing Apple (Malus Domestica) Under Tropical Mountain Climate Conditions in Northern Ethiopia . Experimental Agriculture . 2010 . 46 . 53–65 . 10.1017/S0014479709990470 . 1854/LU-834379 . 53379804 . free .
  13. Book: Socio-demographic profile, food insecurity and food-aid based response. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District . GeoGuide . 2019 . SpringerNature . 10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3 . 978-3-030-04954-6 . 199294303 .
  14. Book: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains — The Dogu'a Tembien District . GeoGuide . 2019 . SpringerNature . 10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3 . 978-3-030-04954-6 . 199294303 .
  15. Book: Logistics for the Trekker in a Rural Mountain District of Northern Ethiopia. 2019 . Springer-Nature . 537–556 . 10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_37 . Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains . GeoGuide . Nyssen . Jan . 978-3-030-04954-6 . 199198251 .
  16. Book: Miruts Hagos and colleagues . Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains . Geosites, Geoheritage, Human-Environment Interactions, and Sustainable Geotourism in Dogu'a Tembien . GeoGuide . 2019 . 3–27 . SpringerNature . 978-3-030-04954-6 . 10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_1 . 199095921 .
  17. Book: 2019 . Springer-Nature . 557–675 . 10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_38 . GeoGuide . Nyssen . Jan . Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains . Description of Trekking Routes in Dogu'a Tembien . 978-3-030-04954-6 . 199271514 .
  18. Web site: Public GPS traces tagged with nyssen-jacob-frankl. OpenStreetMap. 27 December 2018 . 2019-10-11.

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