Somalia

Most of Somalia is flat and dry.

Tall hills rise in the north, near the sea. Two rivers flow all year in the south. Somalia has two rainy seasons and two dry seasons.

In the far north, a narrow coastal plain runs along the Gulf of Aden, and behind it rise steep mountains. The highest, Surud Cad near the town of Ceerigaabo, reaches about 2,408 meters. South of the mountains, wide plateaus slope gently down toward the Indian Ocean, and in the south a belt of ancient sand dunes runs along the coast for more than 1,000 kilometers.

Only two rivers flow all year, the Jubba and the Shabeelle, which start in the highlands of Ethiopia. Somalia has four seasons: the gu, the main rainy season from April to June; the dry xagaa; the second rains, called dayr, from October to December; and the long dry jilaal. At Berbera, on the northern coast, afternoon highs average more than 38 °C from June to September.

Along the Gulf of Aden lies the Guban, a narrow coastal plain, which gives way inland to a maritime range with a steep north-facing scarp; near Ceerigaabo, Surud Cad reaches about 2,408 m. To the south the Galgodon (Ogo) Highlands and the Sool and Hawd plateaus descend toward the Indian Ocean. In the south, granite inselbergs outcrop near Baydhabo, and alluvial plains are separated from the coast by a dune belt more than 1,000 km long. The Dharoor and Nugaaleed are seasonal wadis; the Jubba and Shabeelle, rising in the Ethiopian highlands, are the only permanent rivers, and the Shabeelle sometimes dries up in its lower course.

The year has four seasons: gu (April to June) and dayr (October to December) are rainy, jilaal (December to March) and xagaa (June to September) dry. Mean annual rainfall is under 100 mm in the northeast, 200 to 300 mm on the central plateaus and 500 to 600 mm in the southwest and northwest. Afternoon highs at Berbera average more than 38 °C from June to September, while the Indian Ocean coast is cooler because of a cold offshore current.

Camels are very important in Somalia.

Goats, sheep and cattle are too. Wild lions, leopards and ostriches live there. Some trees give sweet-smelling resin called frankincense and myrrh.

Somalia's greatest resource is its pastures, and its livestock is mostly goats, sheep, camels and cattle. Raising these animals is worth far more than growing crops.

Many wild animals still live across the country, especially in the far south: hyenas, foxes, leopards, lions, warthogs, ostriches, small antelopes and many kinds of birds. Thornbush savanna with acacias covers the south and northwest. In the moist northern mountains grows the frankincense tree, and the myrrh tree grows in the south and center. Both give fragrant resins that people have traded for centuries.

Vegetation follows rainfall: relatively dense thornbush savanna with succulents and acacias in the south and northwest, grassy plains with low thorny shrubs on the northern plateaus, and almost no plant cover in the northeast and much of the northern coastal plain. Frankincense (Boswellia) grows in the wadis and moist zones of the northern coastal mountains, and myrrh (Commiphora) in the border areas of southern and central Somalia. Britannica reports that inappropriate land use has heavily degraded the original vegetation, especially in the north, reducing forage for livestock and wildlife.

Livestock, chiefly goats, sheep, camels and cattle, is Somalia's greatest resource. Hyenas, foxes, leopards, lions, warthogs, ostriches, small antelopes and many birds still live in the country, especially in the far south, but giraffes, zebras, oryx, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses and above all elephants have been greatly reduced, chiefly by ivory poachers. Nature reserves and national parks were created to protect endangered species, but Britannica notes they have been neglected since the central government collapsed in 1991.

Most people in Somalia speak Somali.

Many also speak Arabic. Poems and songs are an important part of Somali life. Since 1973, Somali has been written with the same letters as English.

Somali people make up the great majority of Somalia's population, and Somali communities also live in neighboring Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya. Somalia also has Bantu farming communities along the rivers, Arab families mainly of Yemeni origin, and the Bagiunis, a Swahili fishing people on the coast near the Kenyan border.

The Somali language is understood all over the country. Arabic is the second official language, and Swahili is spoken in the south. Until 1973 Somali was not written down; then an official alphabet using Latin letters was adopted. Poetry, folk dancing, plays and singing are important traditions. Nearly all Somalis are Muslims. In the towns, cooking has been strongly influenced by Italian food.

The Somali people form the overwhelming majority, and Somali communities also live in Djibouti, Ethiopia's Ogaden region and northeastern Kenya, because the western border drawn by colonial powers divides lands traditionally occupied by Somali. Society is organized in clans that trace descent to a common ancestor. Minorities include Bantu farmers, who practice irrigation agriculture on the Jubba and Shabeelle, Arabs mainly of Yemeni origin, and the Bagiunis, a Swahili fishing people on the southern coast and islands.

Somali is a Cushitic language of the Afro-Asiatic family, understood throughout the country despite regional dialects; Arabic is the second official language, and English and Italian are used at colleges and universities. An official Latin-based orthography was adopted in 1973. Virtually all Somali follow the Shafi'i school of Sunni Islam. Britannica describes about two-fifths of people as living in settled communities and three-fifths as nomadic pastoralists or agropastoralists, with more than two-fifths of the population under 15. Poetry, folk dance, plays and song remain central to cultural life, and urban cooking shows strong Italian influence.