Dega

Dega 

the high-altitude “cold” zone of the Ethiopian plateau, with an elevation of 2,400 to 4,620 m (Ras Dashan Mountain). The average monthly temperature for Addis Ababa, located 2,400 m above sea level, ranges from 13.9° to 17.8°C. In the winter, mountains over 3,600 m are covered with snow for a short time; there is occasional snowfall in Addis Ababa. Precipitation varies from 1,000 to 1,500 mm a year. On mountain slopes rising to an elevation of 3,500 m there are forests of dendroid podocarpus and wild olive trees; at an elevation of about 3,000 m “kusso” trees (Hegenia abyssinica) may be found; and above 3,000 m in the mountains and on the high plateaus there are thickets of tree heath and high-altitude tropical steppes. The mountain soil is red and very leached under the forests. In the Dega valleys there are meadows with dark mountain-meadow soils. Because of the severe climate agriculture does not extend beyond an altitude of 2,800 m (teff grass is grown). The majority of the population is engaged in livestock raising (sheep, goats, and Zebu cattle).

L. A. MIKHAILOVA