2 years, 8 months ago
What is the terrain like between Khartoum Sudan along the Blue Nile River to Lake Tana, Ethiopia?
Is there a caravan trail or trade route that is available for human passage?
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Tis Issat Falls, the source of the Blue Nile.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/Blue_Nile_Falls_02.jpg/800px-Blue_Nile_Falls_02.jpg
The terrain is perhaps the hardest route on the planet; half of its 800 kilometer course from Tana to Khartoum is an impenetrable gorge. Within 30 km of its source at Lake Tana the river enters a canyon which it does not leave for 400 km. The canyon over much of its length is over 1500 meter deep. This gorge is a tremendous obstacle for travel and communication from the north half of Ethiopia to the southern half, confirmed by the fact that this leg of the river was not explored until the 1920´s. However, the Blue Nile also named Abbay by the Ethiopian, was first documented during the 16th century by Spanish missionaries.
Many explorers contemplated tracing the course of the Blue Nile from its confluence with the White Nile to Lake Tana, but the deep river gorges in Ethiopia discouraged all attempts during 350 years. The upper waters of the Nile remained unchartered, only "marked on the map by dotted lines" as British Consul Robert E. Cheesman, remarked. Still he was only able to map the Blue Nile from 1925 to 1933, not by following the river and its impassable canyon, but instead following it from the adjacent country highlands by mule.
It was not until 1968, that Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia commissioned to a group of British and Ethiopian explorers the first descent of the Blue Nile from Lake Tana, using specially designed inflatable boats to navigate the dangerous rapids. This expedition made important scientific discoveries.
But it was not until recent times, in January 2005, when the Canadian Les Jickling and New Zealander Mark Tanner, reached the Mediterranean Sea, paddling down the river for the first time in history, under human power.
http://www.canyonsworldwide.com/africa/H%20Simen%20Mountain%20Baboons.JPG
Blue Nile Gorge spectacular view at Simien Mountain National Park. The gorge is as deep as the Great Canyon in Colorado.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Blue_nile_map.png
Map of the Blue Nile rising at Lake Tana, it then flows some 30 kilometers where it plunges over Tis Issat Falls, loops all across Ethiopia enters Sudan and joins the White Nile at Khartoum, the capital.
The terrain is perhaps the hardest route on the planet; half of its 800 kilometer course from Tana to Khartoum is an impenetrable gorge. Within 30 km of its source at Lake Tana the river enters a canyon which it does not leave for 400 km. The canyon over much of its length is over 1500 meter deep. This gorge is a tremendous obstacle for travel and communication from the north half of Ethiopia to the southern half, confirmed by the fact that this leg of the river was not explored until the 1920´s. However, the Blue Nile also named Abbay by the Ethiopian, was first documented during the 16th century by Spanish missionaries.
Many explorers contemplated tracing the course of the Blue Nile from its confluence with the White Nile to Lake Tana, but the deep river gorges in Ethiopia discouraged all attempts during 350 years. The upper waters of the Nile remained unchartered, only "marked on the map by dotted lines" as British Consul Robert E. Cheesman, remarked. Still he was only able to map the Blue Nile from 1925 to 1933, not by following the river and its impassable canyon, but instead following it from the adjacent country highlands by mule.
It was not until 1968, that Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia commissioned to a group of British and Ethiopian explorers the first descent of the Blue Nile from Lake Tana, using specially designed inflatable boats to navigate the dangerous rapids. This expedition made important scientific discoveries.
But it was not until recent times, in January 2005, when the Canadian Les Jickling and New Zealander Mark Tanner, reached the Mediterranean Sea, paddling down the river for the first time in history, under human power.
Blue Nile Gorge spectacular view at Simien Mountain National Park. The gorge is as deep as the Great Canyon in Colorado.
Map of the Blue Nile rising at Lake Tana, it then flows some 30 kilometers where it plunges over Tis Issat Falls, loops all across Ethiopia enters Sudan and joins the White Nile at Khartoum, the capital.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
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