Mika'el Abiy

The tabia stretches down south of the main road towards Rubaksa, which is a wider area with several springs and traditional irrigation. The highest peak is Gumawta (2815 m a.s.l.) on the Tsatsen plateau and the lowest place Rubaksa (1920 m a.s.l.).

File:Rubaksa tufa plug.jpg plug]]

From the higher to the lower locations, the following geological formations are present:{{cite book |last1=Sembroni |first1=A. |last2=Molin |first2=P. |last3=Dramis |first3=F. |title=Regional geology of the Dogu'a Tembien massif. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District |date=2019 |publisher=SpringerNature |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |url=https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030049546}}

• Upper basalt
• Interbedded lacustrine deposits
• Lower basalt
• Amba Aradam Formation
• Antalo Limestone
• Quaternary alluvium and freshwater tufa{{cite journal |last1=Moeyersons |first1=J. and colleagues |title=Age and backfill/overfill stratigraphy of two tufa dams, Tigray Highlands, Ethiopia: Evidence for Late Pleistocene and Holocene wet conditions. |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |date=2006 |volume=230 |issue=1–2 |pages=162–178 |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2005.07.013 |bibcode=2006PPP...230..165M }}

File:Humi-Cumuliskeletic Regosol Kuliheni Ethiopia.jpg

The main geomorphic units, with corresponding soil types are:{{cite journal |last1= Nyssen|first1= J.|last2= Naudts|first2= J.|last3= De Geyndt|first3= K.|last4= Haile|first4= Mitiku|last5= Poesen|first5= J.|last6= Moeyersons|first6= J.|last7= Deckers|first7= J.|title=Soils and land use in the Tigray highlands (Northern Ethiopia). |journal=Land Degradation and Development |date=2008 |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=257–274 |doi= 10.1002/ldr.840|s2cid= 128492271}}{{cite journal |last1= Nyssen|first1= Jan|last2= Tielens|first2= Sander|last3= Gebreyohannes|first3= Tesfamichael|last4= Araya|first4= Tigist|last5= Teka|first5= Kassa|last6= Van De Wauw|first6= Johan|last7= Degeyndt|first7= Karen|last8= Descheemaeker|first8= Katrien|last9= Amare|first9= Kassa|last10= Haile|first10= Mitiku|last11= Zenebe|first11= Amanuel|last12= Munro|first12= Neil|last13= Walraevens|first13= Kristine|author14-link= Kindeya Gebrehiwot|last14= Kindeya Gebrehiwot|last15= Poesen|first15= Jean|last16= Frankl|first16= Amaury|last17= Tsegay|first17= Alemtsehay|last18= Deckers|first18= Jozef|title=Understanding spatial patterns of soils for sustainable agriculture in northern Ethiopia's tropical mountains. |journal=PLOS ONE |date=2019 |volume=14 |issue=10 |pages=e0224041 |doi= 10.1371/journal.pone.0224041|pmid= 31639144|pmc= 6804989|bibcode= 2019PLoSO..1424041N|doi-access= free}}

• Hagere Selam Highlands, along the basalt and sandstone ridge
• Associated soil types
• shallow soils with high stone contents (Skeletic Cambisol, Leptic Cambisol, Skeletic Regosol)
• moderately deep dark stony clays with good natural fertility (Vertic Cambisol)
• deep, dark cracking clays, temporarily waterlogged during the wet season (Pellic Vertisol)
• Inclusions
• Rock outcrops and very shallow soils (Lithic Leptosol)
• Rock outcrops and very shallow soils on limestone (Calcaric Leptosol)
• Deep dark cracking clays with very good natural fertility, waterlogged during the wet season (Chromic Vertisol, Pellic Vertisol)
• Shallow stony dark loams on calcaric material (Calcaric Regosol, Calcaric Cambisol)
• Brown loamy soils on basalt with good natural fertility (Luvisol)

File:Humi-Cumulicalcaric Regosol May Addi Abagie Ethiopia.jpg

• Gently rolling Antalo Limestone plateau, holding cliffs and valley bottoms on limestone
• Associated soil types
• shallow stony soils with a dark surface horizon overlying calcaric material (Calcaric Leptosol)
• moderately deep dark stony clays with good natural fertility (Vertic Cambisol)
• deep, dark cracking clays on calcaric material (Calcaric Vertisol, Calcic Vertisol)
• Inclusions
• Rock outcrops and very shallow soils (Lithic Leptosol)
• Shallow very stony loamy soil on limestone (Skeletic Calcaric Cambisol)
• Deep dark cracking clays with very good natural fertility, waterlogged during the wet season (Chromic Vertisol, Pellic Vertisol)
• Brown to dark sands and silt loams on alluvium (Vertic Fluvisol, Eutric Fluvisol, Haplic Fluvisol) and colluvium (Calcaric Regosol)

{{See also|Soil in Dogu'a Tembien}}

File:Selam Seret community hand pump.jpg

As there are no permanent rivers, the presence of springs is of utmost importance for the local people. The following are the main springs in the tabia:{{cite book | title=What do we hear from the farmers in Dogu'a Tembien? [in Tigrinya] |date=2016 |location=Hagere Selam, Ethiopia |pages=100 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311151542}}

• May Zahla in Dingilet
• May Ayni in Rubaksa

The population lives essentially from crop farming, supplemented with off-season work in nearby towns. The land is dominated by farmlands which are clearly demarcated and are cropped every year. Hence the agricultural system is a permanent upland farming system, and the population are not nomads.{{cite journal |last1= Nyssen|first1= J.|last2= Naudts|first2= J.|last3= De Geyndt|first3= K.|last4= Haile|first4= Mitiku|last5= Poesen|first5= J.|last6= Moeyersons|first6= J.|last7= Deckers|first7= J.|title=Soils and land use in the Tigray highlands (Northern Ethiopia) |journal=Land Degradation and Development |date=2008 |volume=19 |issue= 3|pages=257–274 |doi= 10.1002/ldr.840|s2cid= 128492271}}

File:Rubaksa gardens.jpg

File: Panorama over Hagere Selam.jpg

The tabia centre Megesta holds a few administrative offices and some small shops. The villages close to Hagere Selam (Dingilet and Harena) have established a new settlement, at the margin of Hagere Selam, where the inhabitants benefit from the proximity of the town. The main other populated places in the tabia are:{{cite book |last1=Jacob |first1=M. and colleagues |title=Geo-trekking map of Dogu'a Tembien (1:50,000). In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District |date=2019 |publisher=SpringerNature |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |url=https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030049546}}

Most inhabitants are Orthodox Christians.{{cn|date=December 2024}}

In the northern part of Harena, called Argak'a, there is a large rock of more than 50 m² - a legend says that a certain Ilias transported it up to there.{{cite book |last1=Seifu Gebreselassie |last2=Lanckriet |first2=S. |title=Local myths in relation to the natural environment of Dogu'a Tembien. In: Geo-Trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains, the Dogu'a Tembien District. |date=2019 |publisher=SpringerNature |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |url=https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030049546}}

The main road Mekelle – Hagere Selam – Abiy Addi runs at the north and west of the tabia.{{cn|date=December 2024}}

Almost all children of the tabia attend school{{cite book |title=Socio-demographic profile, food insecurity and food-aid based response. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District |series=GeoGuide |date=2019 |publisher=SpringerNature |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3 |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |s2cid=199294303 |url=https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030049546}} and in some schools there is lack of classrooms, due to the large intake in primary schools.{{Citation |last1=Hartjen |first1=Clayton A. |title=Denial of Education |date=2012 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2179-5_8 |work=The Global Victimization of Children: Problems and Solutions |pages=271–321 |editor-last=Hartjen |editor-first=Clayton A. |access-date=2023-10-12 |place=Boston, MA |publisher=Springer US |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-1-4614-2179-5_8 |isbn=978-1-4614-2179-5 |last2=Priyadarsini |first2=S. |editor2-last=Priyadarsini |editor2-first=S.}}

File:Alaji_Basalts_provide_fertile_soils.jpg|A farmer ploughing at Haddush Addi.

File:Alaji Basalts near the peak of Gumawta Mt. in Dogu'a Tembien.jpg|View towards Dingilet from Mt Gumawta.

File:DingiletWaterfall.jpg|Waterfall in Dingilet.

{{reflist}}

{{Geographic location

|Centre = Mika’el Abiy

|North = Selam

|East = Mizane Birhan

|West = Seret

|South = Inda Sillasie

|Northwest = Hagere Selam

|Northeast = Ayninbirkekin

|Southeast = Amanit

|Southwest = Walta

}}

{{ Tabias (municipalities) of Dogu’a Tembien }}

Category:Dogu'a Tembien

Category:Populated places in the Tigray Region