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Lower Valley of the Omo*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	Ethiopia
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iii, iv
Reference	17
Region†	Africa
Inscription History
Inscription	1980  (4th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

The Omo River is an important river of southern Ethiopia. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia, and empties into Lake Turkana on the border with Kenya. It is the principal stream of an endorheic drainage basin; the part that the Omo drains includes part of the western Oromia Region and the middle of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region.

Contents 1 Geography 2 Early findings 3 Human impact 4 2006 floods 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links

This river rises in the Shewan highlands and is a perennial river. Its course is generally to the south, however with a major bend to the west at about 7° N 37° 30' E to about 36° E where it turns south until 5° 30' N where it makes a large S- bend then resumes its southernly course to Lake Turkana. According to the Statistical Abstract of Ethiopia for 1967/68, the Omo River is 760 kilometers long.

In its course the Omo has a total fall of about 6000 ft (2,000 m), from an elevation of 7600 ft at its source to 1600 ft at lake-level, and is consequently a very rapid stream, being broken by the Kokobi and other falls, and navigable only for a short distance above where it empties into Lake Turkana, one of the lakes of the Great Rift Valley. The Spectrum Guide to Ethiopia describes it as a popular site for white-water rafting in September and October, when the river is still high from the rainy season.^[1] Its most important tributary is the Gibe River; smaller tributaries include the Wabi, Denchya, Gojeb, Mui and Usno rivers.

The Omo River formed the eastern boundaries for the former kingdoms of Janjero, and Garo. The Omo also flows past the Mago and Omo National Parks, which are known for their wildlife. Many animals live near and on the river, including hippopotamuses, crocodiles and Bitis arietans.

On the banks of the Omo River archeologists have found fossil fragments of Olduwan hominids from the early Pleistocene era and up to the Pliocene era. An important finding is Australopithecus man, now extinct.^[2]

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The lower valley of the Omo maybe unique with regard to the duration and number of different cultures that have inhabited it. It is currently believed to have been a crossroads for thousands of years as various cultures and ethnic groups migrated around the region.^{[citation needed]} To this day, the people of the Lower Valley of the Omo, including the Mursi, Suri, Nyangatom, Dizi and Me'en, are studied for their diversity.^[3]

The entire Omo river basin is also important geologically and archaeologically. Several hominid fossils and archaeological locatities, dating to the Pliocene and Pleistocene, have been excavated by French and American teams. Fossils belonging to the genera Australopithecine and Homo have been found at several archaeological sites, as well as tools made from quartzite, the oldest of which date back to about 2.4 million years ago. Because of this, the site was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.^[4]

When they were discovered it was thought that the tools may have been part of a so-called pre-Oldowan industry, even more primitive than what was found in the Olduvai Gorge. Later research has shown that the crude looks of the tools were in fact caused by very poor raw materials, and that the techniques used and the shapes permit their inclusion in the Oldowan.

Heavy rains in 2006 caused the Omo to flood its lower course, drowning at least 456 people and stranding over 20,000 people over the space of five days ending 16 August. While seasonal heavy rains are normal for this part of the country, overgrazing and deforestation are blamed for this tragedy. "The rivers in Ethiopia have less capacity to hold as much water as they did years before, because they are being filled up with silt," World Food Programme spokeswoman Paulette Jones said. "It takes less intensity of rainfall ... to make a river in any particular part of the country overflow."^[5]

• List of Ethiopian rivers
• List of fossil sites (with link directory)
• Omo Remains

• Butzer, Karl W. (1971). Recent history of an Ethiopian delta: the Omo River and the level of Lake Rudolph, Research paper 138, University of Chicago, Department of Geography, 184 p., LCCN 70-184080
• Camerapix (2000). Spectrum Guide to Ethiopia, First American Ed., Brooklyn : Interlink, ISBN 1-56656-350-X
• Crandall, Ben (2007). The Omo River Valley, eMuseum @ Minnesota State University: Mankato, website accessed 31 October 2007
• Hurd, W. (2006). "Rangers by Birth", Cultural Survival Quarterly, 30.2, website accessed 31 October 2007
• UNESCO World Heritage Centre (2007) Lower Valley of the Omo, World Heritage List, website accessed 31 October 2007

• Omo National Park
• Early Homo sapiens Remains from the Omo River Region of South-west Ethiopia: Faunal Remains from the Omo Valley
• The Oldest Homo sapiens

v • d • e World Heritage Sites in Ethiopia
Aksum · Fasil Ghebbi, Gondar Region · Harar Jugol, the Fortified Historic Town · Lower Valley of the Awash · Lower Valley of the Omo · Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela · Simien National Park · Tiya

Coordinates: 4°48′1.27″N, 35°58′1.45″E