Major Rivers
Awash River
The Awash River is a major river of Ethiopia. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia, and empties into a chain of interconnected lakes that begin with Lake Gargori and end with Lake Abbe on the border with Djibouti, some 100 kilometers (60 or 70 miles) from the head of the Gulf of Tadjoura. It is the principal stream of an endorheic drainage basin covering parts of the Amhara, Oromia and Somali Regions, as well as the southern half of the Afar Region.
The Awash rises south of Mount Warqe, west of Addis Ababa in the woreda of Dandi, close to the town of Ginchi, Mirab (West) Shewa Zone, Oromia. Thence the Awash flows south to loop around Mount Zuqualla in an easterly then northeasterly direction, passing the Awash National Park, and joined on its left bank by its chief affluent, the Germama (or Kasam) River, before turning completely east to reach lake Gargori. According to materials published by the Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency, the Awash River is 1200 kilometers long.