Omo River

Delta of the Omo

The 760 km long Omo is a river in southwestern Ethiopia ( East Africa).

The year-round water-bearing river rises west of Addis Ababa and east of Nek'emte in the Ethiopian highlands. In the headwaters of the Omo is the source of salvation Wolliso. It flows mainly in a southerly direction. The southern part of the river, so its lower course, forms the boundary between the region of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples and the Oromia Region; there he also forms the eastern boundary of the Omo National Park. After flowing through the Mago National Park, Omo flows into Lake Turkana, just a bit north of the border to Kenya.

Along the Omo live many Ethiopian tribes, such as the Nyangatom ( trees ), Kara, Dassanetch ( Geleb ), Arbore, Bodi, Mursi, Surma and Hamar. Many of them speak, named after the river omotischen languages.

The Lower Valley of the Omo plays a major role in the planned tourist development in Ethiopia. It is since 1980 a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Among other fossils Omo 1 and Omo 2 were recovered that are and early anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) attributed with an age of at least 130,000 years ago ( according to more recent dating probably even 195,000 years ) are among the oldest finds of the species.

The already mentioned Omo National Park, with 4068 km ² the largest of Ethiopia, one of the richest game, but most rarely visited national parks in Africa.

The Omo is to be extended with several hydroelectric power plants ( Gibe I to V). Of Gibe I and II are already in operation, Gibe III planned in construction and Gibe IV and V. In July 2006, the Ethiopian government signed a contract with the Italian company Salini Costruttori, regarding the construction of the Gibe III, the largest dam in the future of the country. The dam is damming the southwestern section of the Omo River. Human rights organizations like Survival International believe that the construction not only threatens the environment in the Omo Valley, but also the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of members of indigenous groups in Ethiopia and Kenya.