| Gilgel Abay Lesser Abay | |
|---|---|
 Gilgel Abay at BIkolo, during flood | |
 Map of Lake Tana, showing rivers flowing into it | |
| Etymology | Literally "Lesser Nile" |
| Native name | ግልገል አባይ (Amharic) |
| Location | |
| Country | Ethiopia |
| Region | Amhara |
| Zone | West Gojjam |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Near Gish Abay |
| • coordinates | 11°00′41″N 37°09′08″E / 11.01147°N 37.15229°E / 11.01147; 37.15229 |
| • elevation | 2,454 m (8,051 ft) |
| Mouth | Lake Tana |
| • location | 12.5 km (7.8 mi) SE of Kunzila |
| • coordinates | 11°47′55″N 37°07′31″E / 11.798679°N 37.125324°E / 11.798679; 37.125324 |
| • elevation | 1,786 m (5,860 ft) |
| Length | 154.5 km (96.0 mi) |
| Basin size | 3,887 km (1,501 sq mi) |
| Width | |
| • maximum | 71 m (233 ft) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Lake Tana → Blue Nile → Nile → Mediterranean Sea |
| River system | Nile Basin |
| Population | 1,220,000 |
The Gilgel Abay (Amharic: ግልገል አባይ, Gǝlgäl Abbay), or Lesser Abay, is a river of central Ethiopia. Rising in the mountains of Gojjam, it flows northward to empty into south-western Lake Tana in a bird's-foot delta. Tributaries of the Gilgel Abbay include the Ashar, Jamma, Kelti and the Koger. It was regarded as the true source of the Nile for a long time and the Jesuit priest Pedro Paez visited it in 1618. The name Gilgel Abbay means Lesser Nile, as Abbay is the name for the Blue Nile.
Characteristics
It is a meandering river, with a catchment area of 3,887 km (1,501 sq mi). It is 71 meters wide near its mouth, with a slope gradient of 0.7 m/km. The average diameter of the bed material is 0.37 mm (sand).
Sediment transport
The river carries annually 22,185 tonnes of bedload and 7.6 million tonnes of suspended sediment to Lake Tana.
See also
References
- ^ Hanibal Lemma, and colleagues (2019). "Bedload transport measurements in the Gilgel Abay River, Lake Tana Basin, Ethiopia". Journal of Hydrology. 577: 123968. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.123968.
Further reading
- S. Uhlenbrook, Y. Mohamed, and A. S. Gragne, "Analyzing catchment behavior through catchment modeling in the Gilgel Abay, Upper Blue Nile River Basin, Ethiopia." Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 14, 2153–2165, 2010
- Hydrologic Impact of Land-Use Change in The Upper Gilgel Abay River Basin, Ethiopia; TOPMODEL http://www.itc.nl/library/papers_2010/msc/wrem/gumindoga.pdf
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