Qarano River

Qarano is a river of the Nile basin. Rising in the mountains of Dogu’a Tembien in northern Ethiopia, it flows eastward to empty in Giba and Tekezé River.

The river in the radial drainage network of Dogu’a Tembien

Qarano
The Qarano River at Mitslal Afras
Qarano River is located in Ethiopia
Qarano River
Qarano River in Dogu’a Tembien
Location
CountryEthiopia
RegionTigray Region
District (woreda)Dogu’a Tembien
Physical characteristics
SourceAddilal
 • elevation2,246 m (7,369 ft)
MouthGiba River
 • location
May Qarano in Emni Ankelalu municipality
 • coordinates
13.6094°N 39.3861°E / 13.6094; 39.3861
 • elevation
1,753 m (5,751 ft)
Length15.2 km (9.4 mi)
Width 
 • average7 m (23 ft)
Basin features
River systemSeasonal river
LandmarksTufa dam at outlet
WaterfallsNear outlet
TopographyUndulating, with minor cliffs

Characteristics

It is a confined ephemeral river, locally meandering in its narrow alluvial plain, with an average slope gradient of 45 metres per kilometre. With its tributaries, the river has cut a deep gorge.[1]

Flash floods and flood buffering
Qarano valley

Runoff mostly occurs in the form of high runoff discharge events that occur in a very short period (called flash floods). These are related to the steep topography, often little vegetation cover and intense convective rainfall. The peaks of such flash floods have often a 50 to 100 times larger discharge than the preceding baseflow.[1] The magnitude of floods in this river has however been decreased due to interventions in the catchment.

At Addilal and on other steep slopes, exclosures have been established; the dense vegetation largely contributes to enhanced infiltration, less flooding and better baseflow.[2] Physical conservation structures such as stone bunds[3][4] and check dams intercept runoff.[5][6]

Boulders and pebbles in the river bed

Boulders and pebbles encountered in the Qarano river bed can originate from any location higher up in the catchment, and are either made of Antalo Limestone[7] or freshwater tufa[8]

Natural boundary

During its course, this river passes through three municipalities and constitutes different borders.[9] On the various parts:

Trekking along the river

Trekking routes have been established across and along this river.[10] The tracks are not marked on the ground but can be followed using downloaded .GPX files.[11]

  • Trek 23, along the upper part of the river

In the rainy season, flash floods may occur and it is advised not to follow the river bed. [12]

See also

References
  1. Amanuel Zenebe, and colleagues (2019). The Giba, Tanqwa and Tsaliet rivers in the headwaters of the Tekezze basin. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District. SpringerNature. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_14. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
  2. Descheemaeker, K. and colleagues (2006). "Runoff on slopes with restoring vegetation: A case study from the Tigray highlands, Ethiopia". Journal of Hydrology. 331 (1–2): 219–241. doi:10.1016/j.still.2006.07.011. hdl:1854/LU-378900.
  3. Nyssen, Jan; Poesen, Jean; Gebremichael, Desta; Vancampenhout, Karen; d'Aes, Margo; Yihdego, Gebremedhin; Govers, Gerard; Leirs, Herwig; Moeyersons, Jan; Naudts, Jozef; Haregeweyn, Nigussie; Haile, Mitiku; Deckers, Jozef (2007). "Interdisciplinary on-site evaluation of stone bunds to control soil erosion on cropland in Northern Ethiopia". Soil and Tillage Research. 94 (1): 151–163. doi:10.1016/j.still.2006.07.011. hdl:1854/LU-378900.
  4. Gebeyehu Taye and colleagues (2015). "Evolution of the effectiveness of stone bunds and trenches in reducing runoff and soil loss in the semi-arid Ethiopian highlands". Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie. 59 (4): 477–493. Bibcode:2015ZGm....59..477T. doi:10.1127/zfg/2015/0166.
  5. Nyssen, J.; Veyret-Picot, M.; Poesen, J.; Moeyersons, J.; Haile, Mitiku; Deckers, J.; Govers, G. (2004). "The effectiveness of loose rock check dams for gully control in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia". Soil Use and Management. 20: 55–64. doi:10.1111/j.1475-2743.2004.tb00337.x.
  6. Etefa Guyassa and colleagues (2017). "Effects of check dams on runoff characteristics along gully reaches, the case of Northern Ethiopia". Journal of Hydrology. 545 (1): 299–309. Bibcode:2017JHyd..545..299G. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.12.019. hdl:1854/LU-8518957.
  7. Sembroni, A.; Molin, P.; Dramis, F. (2019). Regional geology of the Dogu'a Tembien massif. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains — The Dogu'a Tembien District. SpringerNature. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
  8. Moeyersons, J. and colleagues (2006). "Age and backfill/overfill stratigraphy of two tufa dams, Tigray Highlands, Ethiopia: Evidence for Late Pleistocene and Holocene wet conditions". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 230 (1–2): 162–178. Bibcode:2006PPP...230..165M. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2005.07.013.
  9. Jacob, M. and colleagues (2019). Geo-trekking map of Dogu'a Tembien (1:50,000). In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District. SpringerNature. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
  10. Description of trekking routes in Dogu'a Tembien. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District. GeoGuide. SpringerNature. 2019. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6. S2CID 199294303.
  11. "Public GPS Traces tagged with nyssen-jacob-frankl".
  12. Nyssen, Jan (2019). "Logistics for the Trekker in a Rural Mountain District of Northern Ethiopia". Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains. GeoGuide. Springer-Nature. pp. 537–556. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_37. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
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