Background Information on Ethiopia
Background Information on Ethiopia Ethiopia has many diverse topographical, climatic, linguistic, and religious  features. Geographically, Ethiopia is located within the hot zone. Its southern tip is only  30 degrees north of the equator. However, due to its high altitude, the country has a  predominantly moderate climate with an average temperature in its vast central highland  plateaus no more than 20°C (68°F). The Great East African Rift Valley traverses the  central highland plateau into the north-west and south-east highlands. The majority of  the population lives in scattered villages in the highlands as farmers and pastoralists. The  three popular indigenous foodstuff plants, teff (Eragrostis teff), nug (Guizotia  abyssinica), and enset (Edulis edule) have been cultivated since at least the 5th  millennium BC (Pankhurst, 2005, p. 13).The highlands are surrounded by lowlands, the  largest part of which lies on the south-eastern side adjacent to Somalia. The Ethiopian  Rift Valley...