Seret (Dogu'a Tembien)

The tabia occupies a (locally wide) structural flat on the foot of the Tsatsen plateau, along the main road. It occupies a saddle position between the Upper Tanqwa and Zeyi River gorges. The highest location is the Tsatsen plateau (culminating at 2810 m a.s.l.) and the lowest place near Zeyi cave (2180 m a.s.l.).

File:Rock sample 9 Extremely porphyritic basalt May Shih.jpg, collected at May Shih]]

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

On the basalt rocks, the red-black soil catena{{cite book |last1=Deckers |first1=J. and colleagues |title=Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains |chapter=Understanding Soil Spatial Patterns for Sustainable Development |series=GeoGuide |date=2019 |pages=361–372 |publisher=SpringerNature |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_24 |s2cid=199097945 }} is widespread: reddish soils such as Luvisols in the uplands and dark Vertisols in the plain around Inda Maryam. Here, the Vertisols are covered with stones, what evidences the vertic movements; they are also very prone to gully erosion.{{Cite journal |last1=Moeyersons |first1=Jan |last2=Nyssen |first2=Jan |last3=Poesen |first3=Jean |last4=Deckers |first4=Jozef |last5=Mitiku Haile |date=June 2006 |title=On the origin of rock fragment mulches on Vertisols: A case study from the Ethiopian highlands |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0169555X0500379X |journal=Geomorphology |language=en |volume=76 |issue=3–4 |pages=411–429 |doi=10.1016/j.geomorph.2005.12.005|bibcode=2006Geomo..76..411M |url-access=subscription }}

The main geomorphic unit is the Hagere Selam Highlands. Corresponding soil types are:{{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|last14= Gebrehiwot|first14= Kindeya|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}}

• 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)

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

The rainfall pattern shows a very high seasonality with 70 to 80% of the annual rain falling in July and August. Mean temperature in Inda Maryam is 17 °C, oscillating between average daily minimum of 9.4 °C and maximum of 24.3 °C. The contrasts between day and night air temperatures are much larger than seasonal contrasts.{{cite book |last1=Jacob |first1=M. and colleagues |title=Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains |chapter=Dogu'a Tembien's Tropical Mountain Climate |series=GeoGuide |date=2019 |pages=45–61 |publisher=SpringerNature |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_3 |s2cid=199105560 }}

The Giba River and its tributary the Tanqwa are the most important rivers in the surroundings of the tabia. They flow towards Tekezze River and further on to the Nile. These rivers have incised deep gorges which characterise the landscape.{{cite book |last1=Amanuel Zenebe |first1=and colleagues |title=Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains |chapter=The Giba, Tanqwa and Tsaliet Rivers in the Headwaters of the Tekezze Basin |series=GeoGuide |date=2019 |pages=215–230 |publisher=SpringerNature |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_14 |s2cid=199099067 }}

The drainage network of the tabia is organised as follows:{{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}}

• Giba River
• Zeyi River, at the border of tabias Simret and Walta
• Zeleqwa River, which becomes Ruba Dirho near Seret, and Tanqwa River, in the woredas Kola Tembien and Abergele (woreda)
• Tsech'i River, in tabias Seret, Menachek and Aregen
• May Dechena, with its source in Inda Maryam

Whereas they are (nearly) dry during most of the year, during the main rainy season, these rivers carry high runoff discharges, sometimes in the form of flash floods. Especially at the beginning of the rainy season, they are brown-coloured, evidencing high soil erosion rates.

As there are no permanent rivers, the presence of springs is of utmost importance for the local people. The main springs in the tabia are:{{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}}

• Dechena in Inda Maryam Qorar
• May Weyni in the homonymous village
• May Ch’ech’ati in a gorge draining the Tsatsen plateau

In this area with rains that last only for a couple of months per year, reservoirs of different sizes allow harvesting runoff from the rainy season for further use in the dry season.

• Traditional surface water harvesting ponds, particularly in places without permanent springs, called rahaya
• Horoyo, household ponds, recently constructed through campaigns[https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3763/ijas.2008.0366 Developers and farmers intertwining interventions: the case of rainwater harvesting and food-for-work in Degua Temben, Tigray, Ethiopia]

The tabia centre Inda Maryam Qorar holds a few administrative offices, a health post, a primary school, and some small shops. Saturday is the market day. There are a few more primary schools across the tabia. The main other populated places are:

• May Weyni
• Addi Mishahan
• Mezegat
• Duwele
• Mashih
• May Ch’iwara
• Haddush Addi (shared with Mika'el Abiy)

The latter two villages are the highest villages of this part of Tigray, on the Tsatsen plateau, at an elevation of approximately 2800 metres.

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.{{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|bibcode= 2008LDeDe..19..257N|s2cid= 128492271}} The farmers have adapted their cropping systems to the spatio-temporal variability in rainfall.{{cite journal |last1=Frankl |first1=A. and colleagues |title=The effect of rainfall on spatio-temporal variability in cropping systems and duration of crop cover in the Northern Ethiopian Highlands |journal=Soil Use and Management |date=2013 |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=374–383 |doi=10.1111/sum.12041 |bibcode=2013SUMan..29..374F |url=https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/3123393 |hdl=1854/LU-3123393 |s2cid=95207289 |hdl-access=free }}

The introduction of apples for cultivation in backyards by smallholder farmers{{cite journal |last1=Dereje Ashebir |first1=and colleagues |title=Growing Apple (Malus Domestica) Under Tropical Mountain Climate Conditions in Northern Ethiopia |journal=Experimental Agriculture |date=2010 |volume=46 |pages=53–65 |doi=10.1017/S0014479709990470 |url=https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/834379 |hdl=1854/LU-834379 |s2cid=53379804 |hdl-access=free }} was especially successful in Mashih, some 5 km to the east of Inda Maryam.

The history of the tabia is strongly confounded with the history of Tembien.

Most inhabitants are Orthodox Christians. The following churches are located in the tabia:

• Maryam Qorar
• Maryam Mashih
• Abune Selama, on a mountain peak at the boundary to Mika'el Abiy
• Addi Mishahan Mika'el

In the main villages, there are traditional beer houses (Inda Siwa), often in unique settings, where people socialise. Well known in the tabia are

• Tiwres Hailesillasie at Inda Maryam Qorar
• Tsehaynesh Abate at Inda Maryam Qorar
• Kidan Gebreayezgi at Inda Maryam Qorar

The main road Mekelle – Hagere Selam – Abiy Addi crosses the tabia. There are regular bus services to these towns. Further, a rural access road links Mashih, Mezegat and Duwele to the main asphalt road.

Almost all children of the tabia are schooled,{{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}} though in some schools there is lack of classrooms, directly related to the large intake in primary schools over the last decades.{{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=2023-10-13 |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.|url-access=subscription }} Schools in the tabia include Mashih school.

Its mountainous nature and proximity to Mekelle make the tabia fit for tourism.{{cite book |title= 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}} As compared to many other mountain areas in Ethiopia the villages are quite accessible, and during walks visitors may be invited for coffee, lunch or even for an overnight stay in a rural homestead. In Inda Maryam Qorar there are very basic hotels, mainly used by pilgrims on their way to Dabba Hadera monastery.{{cite book |chapter=Logistics for the Trekker in a Rural Mountain District of Northern Ethiopia|date=2019 |publisher=Springer-Nature |pages=537–556 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_37 |title=Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains |series=GeoGuide |last1=Nyssen |first1=Jan |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |s2cid=199198251 }}

• Tsatsen plateau with views

The high variability of geological formations and the rugged topography invite for geological and geographic tourism or "geotourism".{{cite book |last1=Miruts Hagos and colleagues |title=Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains |chapter=Geosites, Geoheritage, Human-Environment Interactions, and Sustainable Geotourism in Dogu'a Tembien |series=GeoGuide |date=2019 |pages=3–27 |publisher=SpringerNature |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_1 |s2cid=199095921 }} Geosites in the tabia include:

• Inda Maryam extensive Vertisol area
• Views to adjacent gorges
• Apple cultivation in Mashih
• Exclosures managed by “Trees for Farmers” in the northeast of the tabia

Trekking routes have been established, with starting point in Inda Maryam Qorar'.{{cite book |date=2019 |publisher=Springer-Nature |pages=557–675 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_38 |series=GeoGuide |last1=Nyssen |first1=Jan |title=Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains |chapter=Description of Trekking Routes in Dogu'a Tembien |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |s2cid=199271514 }} The tracks are not marked on the ground but can be followed using downloaded .GPX files.{{cite web|url=https://www.openstreetmap.org/traces/tag/nyssen-jacob-frankl|title=Public GPS traces tagged with nyssen-jacob-frankl|website=OpenStreetMap|date=27 December 2018 |accessdate=2019-10-11}}

• Trek 7, to Debre Sema'it rock church, and on to Abiy Addi
• Trek 8, from Tsatsen, through Inda Maryam to Zeyi cave and on the Giba River gorge
• Trek 8V, to Dabba Hadera monastery
• Trek 19, to Debre Sema'it rock church, and on to Agbe

• Dogu'a Tembien district.

{{reflist}}

{{Geographic location

|Centre = Seret

|North = Lim'at

|East = Walta

|South = Simret

|West = Menachek

}}

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

Category:Populated places in the Tigray Region

Category:Dogu'a Tembien