Relief

Eritrea’s land is highly variegated. Running on a north-southaxis through the middle of the country are the central highlands, a narrow strip of country some 6,500 feet (2,000 metres) abovesea level that represents the northern reaches of theEthiopian Plateau. The highest point isMount Soira, at 9,885 feet (3,013 metres). Geologically, the plateau consists of a foundation ofcrystalline rock (e.g., granite, gneiss, and mica schist) that is overlain bysedimentary rock (limestone and sandstone) and capped by basalt (rock of volcanic origin). The upper layers have been highly dissected by deep gorges and river channels, forming small, steep-sided, flat-topped tablelands known asambas. Encouraged by the steady expansion of cultivation, soil erosion on the plateau has left few wooded areas.

In the north of Eritrea the highlands narrow and then end in a system of hills, where erosion has cut down to the basement rock. To the east theplateau drops abruptly into a coastal plain. North of the Gulf of Zula, the plain is only 10 to 50 miles (15 to 80 km) wide, but to the south it widens to include theDanakil Plain. This barren region contains a depression known as theKobar Sink (more than 300 feet [90 metres] below sea level), the northern end of which extends into Eritrea. The coastal plain and the Danakil Plain are part of theEast African Rift System and are sharply delimited on the west by the eastern escarpment of the plateau, which, although deeply eroded, presents aformidable obstacle to travelers from the coast.

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The western flank of the central highlands is a broken and undulating plain that slopes gradually toward the border with Sudan. It lies at an average elevation of 1,500 feet (460 metres). The vegetation is mostlysavanna, consisting of scattered trees, shrubs, and seasonal grasses.

Off the coast in the Red Sea is theDahlak Archipelago, a group of more than 100 small coral and reef-fringed islands. Only a few of these islands have a permanent population.

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Drainage

The Eritrean highlands are drained by four major rivers and numerous streams. Two of the rivers, theGash and the Tekezē, flow westward into Sudan. TheTekezē River (also known as the Satit) is a major tributary of theAtbara River, which eventually joins the Nile. The Gash River reaches the Atbara only during flood season. As it crosses the western lowlands, the Tekezē forms part of Eritrea’s border with Ethiopia, while the upper course of the Gash, known as theMereb River, forms the border on the plateau.

The other two major rivers that drain the highlands of Eritrea are theBaraka and theAnseba. Both of these rivers flow northward into a marshy area on the eastern coast of Sudan and do not reach the Red Sea. Several seasonal streams that flow eastward from the plateau reach the sea on the Eritrean coast.

Climate

Eritrea has a wide variety of climatic conditions, produced mainly by differences in elevation. The effects of elevation are seen most clearly in the wide range of temperatures experienced throughout the country. On the coast,Massawa (Mitsiwa) has one of the highest averages in the world (the mid-80s F [about 30 °C]), whileAsmara, only 40 miles (65 km) awayyet roughly 7,500 feet (2,300 metres) higher on the plateau, averages in the low 60s F (about 17 °C).

Mean annual rainfall on the plateau is about 16 to 20 inches (400 to 500 mm), while on the western plain it is less than 16 inches. In both the highlands and the western lowlands, rainfall comes in summer, carried on a southwesterly airstream. Toward the northeastern extremes of the plateau, the amount ofprecipitation decreases, and the length of the rainy season becomes shorter. The eastern edges of the plateau and, to a lesser extent, the coastal fringes receive much smaller quantities of rain from a northeasterly airstream that arrives in winter and spring. The interior regions of the Danakil Plain are practically rainless.

Ethnic groups and languages

Eritrea’s population consists of several ethnic groups, each with its own language and cultural tradition. In addition to the languages spoken by the various ethnic groups, Arabic and English are widely understood. Italian is occasionally used as well.

The bulk of the people in theEritrean highlands areTigray. In Eritrea that group is sometimes called Tigrinya, though linguists ofSemitic languages note that-nya is anAmharic suffix meaning “language of.” In any case, propernomenclature for the people is fluid, given contemporary political sensitivities. The Tigray make up about half the country’s total population. They also occupy theadjacentEthiopian region ofTigray. TheTigrinya language is one of two majorindigenous languages in Eritrea.

Inhabiting the northernmost part of the Eritrean plateau, as well as lowlands to the east and west, are theTigre people. The Tigre, whoconstitute nearly one-third of Eritrea’s population, speak the other major Eritrean language—Tigré.Tigré andTigrinya are written in the same script and are both related to the ancient SemiticGeʿez language, but they are mutually unintelligible.

Also occupying the northern plateau are Bilin speakers, whose language belongs to theCushitic family. TheRashaida are a group of Arabic-speaking nomads whotraverse the northern hills. On the southern part of the coastal region liveAfar nomads. The Afars—who also live across the borders in Djibouti and Ethiopia—are known to surrounding peoples as the Danakil, after the region that they inhabit. The coastal strip south of Massawa, as well as the eastern flanks of the plateau, are occupied bySaho pastoralists. In the western plain the dominant people areBeja pastoralists; Beja also live across the border in Sudan. Two small groups speakingNilotic languages, the Kunama and the Nara, also live in the west.