Understanding Ethiopia (eBook)

Frances Williams taught Geology at Addis Ababa University from 1969 to 1976. During that time she travelled throughout Ethiopia, exploring its geology with her students, mapping volcanoes, and investigating the effects of earthquakes. Now relocated to Australia she visits Ethiopia frequently, and has authored and co-authored a number of guidebooks and brochures on localities of geological interest.

Introduction.- Setting the scene: Ethiopia today.- Beginnings: The First Billion Years.- Rocks and landforms of the south and west.- The far north: Axum and beyond.- The Early and Middle Years: Ice, Sea and Sand.- The great gorges: slices through time.- The rocks, landforms and hidden churches of Tigray.- The Onset of Turbulent Times.- The Ethiopian highlands: uplift and volcanoes.- The geology and churches of Lalibela.- The Semien and Bale Mountains.- The Break-up of a Continent.- The Rift Valley southwards, from Nazret to Lake Chamo.- The Rift Valley northwards, from Nazret to Awash.- The margins of the Rift Valley and the great Western Escarpment.- Southern Afar:  lava fields, earthquakes and the birthplace of mankind.- The Birth of an Ocean.- Northern Afar: live volcanoes, earthquakes and the beginnings of a new ocean.- Conclusion.- Ethiopia in the future.- Glossary.- Bibliography / Recommended Reading.- Index.