# Dawa River (Webiga Daawa)

> The Dawa River (Webiga Daawa): river of southern Ethiopia forming part of the Ethiopia–Kenya and Ethiopia–Somalia borders, a source of the Jubba.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/regions/dawa-river/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Course

The Dawa rises in the highlands of southern Ethiopia and flows south-east. It forms part of the Ethiopia–Kenya border and then part of the Ethiopia–Somalia border ([Wikipedia: Dawa River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawa_River)). At Dolow on the Somali border it meets the Ganale Dorya, and the two form the [Jubba River](/en/regions/jubba-river/) ([Wikipedia: Jubba River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubba_River)). The meeting point, at about 4.18°N, 42.08°E and 180 m above sea level, is in Somalia's [Gedo](/en/regions/gedo/) region ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1178464)).

The basin covers about 58,961 km², 81% of it in Ethiopia, lying between about 3.9° and 6.5°N and 38.0° and 42.1°E. It falls from 3,098 m in the north-west to 169 m at the outlet. The Awata, Digati and Mormora are its main tributaries ([Wikipedia: Dawa River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawa_River)). Its names are Webiga Daawa in Somali, Laga Daawwaa in Oromo and Daua in Italian ([Wikipedia: Dawa River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawa_River)).

## Climate and water

The basin spans three climate zones: cool highlands, a temperate middle and hot lowlands. Ethiopian rainfall records for 1996–2016 show about 1,500 mm a year at the northern end, falling to about 200 mm near the outlet. The average temperature rises from about 15.5°C in the north to 28°C in the south ([Wikipedia: Dawa River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawa_River)).

Groundwater is shaped by the rocks: water is freshest in volcanic areas and saltiest in sedimentary areas. In the dry south-east, people get water from flash floods after heavy rain and from shallow wells in dry river beds ([Wikipedia: Dawa River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawa_River); [Environmental Earth Sciences, 2016](https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-016-5777-0); [Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2016](https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-016-5480-3)).

## Plants, animals and herders

The biggest trees of the riverine forest grow along the lower Dawa, among them African ebony (*Diospyros mespiliformis*), sycamore fig, tamarind and African mahogany ([Wikipedia: Dawa River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawa_River)). BirdLife International lists the Dawa–Wachile area of Ethiopia as an Important Bird Area ([BirdLife: Dawa–Wachile IBA](http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/dawa--wachile-iba-ethiopia)). Borana herders in the basin raise cattle and sheep because the long dry season makes crops hard to grow ([Wikipedia: Dawa River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawa_River)).

When the river runs low, herders on all sides depend on the same water. The Danish Refugee Council reported on what happens to communities "when the river dries out" ([Danish Refugee Council](https://drc.ngo/news/when-the-river-dries-out-all-life-disappears)), and SIPRI studied climate and security in the Ethiopia–Kenya–Somalia border area ([SIPRI, 2020](https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2020-03/sipripp54_0.pdf)).

## Dams on the Ganale–Dawa system

Ethiopia opened the Genale Dawa III hydroelectric plant in February 2020 ([Construction Review Online, Feb 2020](https://constructionreviewonline.com/2020/02/ethiopia-inaugurates-genale-dawa-iii-hydroelectric-power-plant/)).

## Sources

- [Wikipedia: Dawa River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawa_River)
- [Wikidata Q1178464](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1178464)
- [BirdLife International: Dawa–Wachile IBA](http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/dawa--wachile-iba-ethiopia)
- [SIPRI, climate-related security risks, 2020](https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2020-03/sipripp54_0.pdf)
- [Danish Refugee Council](https://drc.ngo/news/when-the-river-dries-out-all-life-disappears)

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