Jubba River

Last updated
Jubba River
Juba river downstream Jamaame.jpg
The Jubba river near Jamaame
Jubbarivermap.png
Map of the Jubba/Shebelle drainage basin
Native nameنهر جوبا (Arabic)
Location
Countries
Physical characteristics
Source 
  location Ganale Dorya River
  coordinates 6°48′45″N39°07′14″E / 6.812476°N 39.120654°E / 6.812476; 39.120654
  length1,634 km (1,015 mi)
  elevation3,588 m (11,772 ft)
2nd source 
  location Dawa River
  coordinates 6°13′35″N38°24′30″E / 6.226442°N 38.408440°E / 6.226442; 38.408440
  length1,614 km (1,003 mi)
  elevation3,023 m (9,918 ft)
3rd source 
  location Shebelle River
  coordinates 6°51′14″N38°41′14″E / 6.853955°N 38.687357°E / 6.853955; 38.687357
  length2,064 km (1,283 mi)
  elevation2,711 m (8,894 ft)
Source confluence 
  locationConfluence of Dawa River and Ganale Dorya River
  coordinates 4°10′38″N42°04′51″E / 4.1771°N 42.0809°E / 4.1771; 42.0809
  elevation174 m (571 ft)
Mouth Somali Sea
  location
Goobweyn
  coordinates
0°14′58″S42°37′51″E / 0.2495°S 42.6307°E / -0.2495; 42.6307
  elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Length2,064 km (1,283 mi) [1]
Basin size745,374 km2 (287,791 sq mi)
Discharge 
  locationMouth
  average536.7 m3/s (18,950 cu ft/s)
  minimum179.2 m3/s (6,330 cu ft/s)
  maximum1,055.7 m3/s (37,280 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Population27,100,000 [2]
Tributaries 
  left Ganale Dorya, Shebelle
  right Dawa, Ewaso Ng'iro

The Jubba River or Juba River (Somali : Webiga Jubba, Italian : fiume Giuba) is a river in southern Somalia which flows through the region of Jubaland. It begins at the border with Ethiopia, where the Dawa and Ganale Dorya rivers meet, and flows directly south to the Somali Sea, where it empties at the Goobweyn juncture. The Jubba basin covers an area of 749,000 km2 (289,000 sq mi). [3] The Somali regional state of Jubaland, formerly called Trans-Juba, is named after the river.

Contents

History

Ajuran Empire

The Jubba River has a rich history of a once-booming sophisticated civilization and trade network conducted by the powerful Somalis that held sway over the Jubba River.

During the Middle Ages Jubba River was under the Ajuran Empire of the Horn of Africa which utilized the Jubba River for its plantations and was the only hydraulic empire in Africa. A hydraulic empire that rose in the 13th century AD, Ajuran monopolized the water resources of the Jubba River and Shebelle. Through hydraulic engineering, it also constructed many of the limestone wells and cisterns of the state that are still operative and in use today. Its rulers developed new systems for agriculture and taxation, which continued to be used in parts of the Horn of Africa as late as the 19th century. [4]

Through their control of the region's wells, the Garen rulers effectively held a monopoly over their nomadic subjects as they were one of the few hydraulic empire in Africa. Large wells made out of limestone were constructed throughout the state, which attracted Somali nomads with their livestock. The centralized regulations of the wells made it easier for the nomads to settle disputes by taking their queries to government officials who would act as mediators. Long distance caravan trade, a long-time practice in the Horn of Africa, continued unchanged in Ajuran times. Today, numerous ruins and abandoned towns throughout the interior of Somalia and the Horn of Africa are evidence of a once-booming inland trade network dating from the medieval period. [5]

With the centralized supervision of the Ajuran, farms in Afgooye, Bardhere and other areas in the Jubba and Shebelle valleys increased their productivity. A system of irrigation ditches known locally as Kelliyo fed directly from the Shebelle River and Jubba River into the plantations where sorghum, maize, beans, grain and cotton were grown during the gu (Spring in Somali) and xagaa (Summer in Somali) seasons of the Somali calendar. This irrigation system was supported by numerous dikes and dams. To determine the average size of a farm, a land measurement system was also invented with moos, taraab and guldeed being the terms used.

The urban centers of Mogadishu, Merca, Barawa, Kismayo and Hobyo and other respective ports became profitable trade outlets for commodities originating from the interior of the State. The Somali farming communities of the hinterland from Jubba and Shebelle valleys brought their crops to the Somali coastal cities, where they were sold to local merchants who maintained a lucrative foreign commerce with ships sailing to and coming from Arabia, Persia, India, Venice, Egypt, Portugal, and as far away as Java and China. [6]

Modern Period

Over two centuries passed until German explorer Baron Karl Klaus von der Decken ascended on the lower reaches of the river on the small steamship Welf in 1863. He wrecked the steamship in the rapids above Bardhere, where the party was attacked by local Somalis, ending in the deaths of the Baron and three others in his party. The first European to explore widely and complete the course of the river was the Italian explorer Vittorio Bottego attended by Commander F. G. Dundas British Navy. Bottego and his expedition sailed 640 km (400 miles) of the river in 1891. During his exploration Bottego changed the name of the main affluent of Jubba—the Ganale river—in Ganale Doria after the famous Italian naturalist Giacomo Doria. [7] [8]

Overview

Bridge over the Jubba river in Bardhere. Bardere.bridge.jpg
Bridge over the Jubba river in Bardhere.

The Jubba basin region is primarily savanna, and is, ecologically speaking, the richest part of the country due to its fertile farmland. Native wildlife includes giraffes, cheetahs, lions, leopards, hyenas, buffalos, hippopotamus, crocodiles, oryx, gazelles, camels, ostriches, jackals, and Somali wild asses.

The Jubba River gives its name to the Somali administrative regions of Upper Juba (Gedo, Bay, Bakool), Middle Juba and Lower Juba, as well as to the larger historical region of Jubaland. Major cities which the Jubba River passes by include Dolow, Luuq, Burdhubo, Beled'hawo, Bardhere, Buale, and Goobweyn near Kismaayo.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle Juba</span> Region of Somalia

Middle Juba is an administrative region (gobol) in southern Somalia. With its capital at Bu'aale, it is located in the autonomous Jubaland region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lower Juba</span> Region of Somalia

Lower Juba is an administrative region (gobol) in southern Somalia. With its capital at Kismayo, it lies in the autonomous Jubaland region. It has green forests and wildlife including lions, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, and hyenas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shebelle River</span> River in Somalia

The Shebelle River also known historically as the Nile of Mogadishu, begins in the highlands of Ethiopia, and then flows southeast into Somalia towards Mogadishu. Near Mogadishu, it turns sharply southwest, where it follows the coast. Below Mogadishu, the river becomes seasonal. During most years, the river dries up near the mouth of the Jubba River, while in seasons of heavy rainfall, the river actually reaches the Jubba and thus the ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vittorio Bottego</span> Italian army officer and explorer of Africa

Vittorio Bottego was an Italian army officer and one of the first Western explorers of Jubaland and southern Ethiopia, where he led two expeditions. He was the first European explorer to follow the course of the lower Omo River to its confluence with Lake Turkana and to reach Lake Abaya, which he renamed Lake Margherita after Queen Margherita of Savoy wife of King Humbert I of Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kismayo</span> Port city in Somalia

Kismayo is a port city in the southern Lower Juba province of Somalia. It is the commercial capital of the autonomous Jubaland region.

The Bajuni Islands are an archipelago in southern Somalia. They are situated in the Somali sea off the southern coast of Jubaland, from Kismayo to Ras Kiyamboni.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garre</span> Major Somali clan

The Garre are a prominent Somali clan that traces its lineage back to Samaale, who is believed to have originated from the Arabian Peninsula through Aqiil Abu Talib. The Garre clan is considered to be a sub-clan of the Digil-Rahanweyn clan family, which is part of the larger Rahanweyn clan. However, genealogically, they are descended from Gardheere Samaale. The Garre are also categorized as southern Hawiye as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bardere</span> City in Jubaland, Somalia

Bardere also known as Bardera, is a city in Jubaland State of Somalia. It is the second most populous city in Jubaland with Kismayo being the largest and most densely populated city in the region. Bardere sits on the Jubba River around 250 km west of the city of Baidoa and is in a highland area with fertile soil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rahanweyn</span> Somali clan family

The Rahanweyn, also known as the Digil and Mirifle is a major Somali clan. It is one of the major Somali clans in the Horn of Africa, with a large territory in the densely populated fertile valleys of the Jubba and Shebelle rivers and the areas inbetween, which are mainly inhabited by settlers from the Digil and Mirifle lineages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jubba Valley</span> River valley in East Africa

The Jubba Valley is a valley in East Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ajuran Sultanate</span> Muslim sultanate in the Horn of Africa

The Ajuran Sultanate, natively referred to as Ajuuraan, and often simply Ajuran, was a medieval Muslim Empire in the Horn of Africa. Founded by Somali Sultans it ruled over large parts of the Horn of Africa during the Middle Ages via control over water. Its rise to prominence began during the 13th and 14th century. By the 15th century, the Ajuran were Africa's only 'Hydraulic empire'. Through a strong centralized administration and an aggressive military stance towards invaders, the Ajuran Empire successfully resisted Oromo invasions from the west and fought against Portuguese incursions from the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bimaal</span> Somali clan

The Bimaal or Bimal, are a sub-clan of the major Dir clan family. This clan is widely known for leading a resistance against the colonials in southern Somalia for decades which can be compared to the war of the Sayyid in Somaliland. The Biimaal mainly lives in southern Somalia, the Somali region of Ethiopia, which their Gaadsen sub-clan mainly inhabits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luuq</span> City in Somalia

Luuq is a city in the southwestern Gedo province of Somalia. It is one of the older settlements in the area. It is the seat of the Luuq District. The town is located in a bend of the Juba River, where the watercourse flows down from north to south in a horseshoe shape. Luuq is also known as Luuq Gan naane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oltre Giuba</span> 1924–25 Italian colony in modern Somalia

Oltre Giuba or Trans-Juba was an Italian colony in the territory of Jubaland in present-day southern Somalia. It lasted from 1924 until 1926, when it was absorbed into Italian Somaliland. Transjuba is the former name of Jubaland, a federal member state of Somalia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ganale Doria River</span> River in Ethiopia

The Ganale Doria River is a perennial river in southeastern Ethiopia. Rising in the mountains east of Aleta Wendo, the Ganale flows south and east to join with the Dawa at the border with Somalia to become the Jubba. The river's tributaries include the Welmel, Weyib, Dumale, Doya, Hawas and the Hambala. The Del Verme Falls is a notable feature of its middle course.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Oltre Giuba</span>

Oltre Giuba formerly Trans-Juba, is the former name of Jubaland, in the southwesternmost part of Somalia, on the far side of the Juba River, bordering Kenya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goob Weyn</span> Village in Lower Juba, Somalia

Goob Weyn is a village in the southern Lower Juba region of Somalia, where Juba river meets the indian ocean.majority shiikhaal

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jubaland</span> Federal state in Southern Somalia

Jubaland, or the Juba Valley, is a Federal Member State in southern Somalia. Jubba River, stretching from Dolow to the Indian Ocean, while its western side flanks the North Eastern Province in Kenya, which was carved out of Jubaland during the colonial period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ganale Doria</span>

Ganale Doria is a dam located near Genale on the river Shabelle. It was built in the south of Somalia in the 1920s along with an extensive network of canals. The dam was strongly promoted by Cesare Maria De Vecchi - Italian governor of Italian Somalia from 1924 to 1928 - in order to provide water for irrigation of a vast territory between Genale, Merca and Vittorio di Africa, to be given in concession to colonists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jubba Basin</span> Delta, Estuary in Jubaland

The Jubba Basin, also called Goobweyn Hoose, is a drainage outlet in Jubaland, Somalia and is the point at which the River Jubba meets the Somali Sea. Since the Shebelle River's outlet joins Jubba as a tributary, it is also the outlet of the Shebelle River.

References

  1. Lehner, Bernhard; Verdin, Kristine; Jarvis, Andy (2008-03-04). "New Global Hydrography Derived From Spaceborne Elevation Data". Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union. 89 (10): 93–94. doi:10.1029/2008eo100001. ISSN   0096-3941.
  2. Liu, L., Cao, X., Li, S., & Jie, N. (2023). GlobPOP: A 31-year (1990-2020) global gridded population dataset generated by cluster analysis and statistical learning (1.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10088105
  3. Managing Shared Basins in the Horn of Africa – Ethiopian Projects on the Juba and Shabelle Rivers and Downstream Effects in Somalia.
  4. Njoku, Raphael Chijioke (2013). The History of Somalia. p. 26. ISBN   9780313378577 . Retrieved 2014-02-14.
  5. Cassanelli (1982), p. 149.
  6. Journal of African History pg. 50 by John Donnelly Fage and Roland Anthony Oliver.
  7. 1892; Il Giuba esplorato, 1895.
  8. F. G. Dundas, "Expedition up the Jub River through Somali-Land, East Africa", Geographical Journal, 1 (March 1893), pp. 209-222.

Works cited