Somalia

1.The land

Situated in eastern Africa,Somalia forms the cap of the horn of Africa.Bordered by Kenya in the south,Ethiopia in the west,Djibouti in the northwest,the Golf of Aden in the north,and the indian ocean in the east, Somalia covers an area of about 638,000 square kilometers,making it slightly smaller than Texas.

Somalia is mostly flat,rising in the southern and central regions to a few hundred meters above sea level near the ethiopian border.The hight area is along the northern coast,where mountains rise to some 2,000 meters. Somalia ‘s long coast line about 3,000 kilometers,the longest in Africa has been vital to its trade with the middle east and the rest of Africa.

2. The Climate

Climate is the primary factor in much of Somalia life.With hot,dry weather year-round,except at the higher elevations in the north,most of Somalia has a semi-arid to arid environment suitable primarily for the nomadic pastoralism that more than half the population practices.

Agriculture is practiced primarily in the northwest and in the interriverine areas in the south. Somalia has two rainy seasons:the GU (April to june) and the DAYR (October to November). Droughts usually occur every two to three years in both the DAYR and theGU.The coastal region in the South aroud Mogadishu and Kismayo has an additional rainy seasons,the XAGAAYE (july to August),in which isolated rain showers prevail. In the south, the mean montly temperature ranges from 68° to 92° F. The hottest months are February through April. Somalia hootest climate is on the northern coastal strip along the Gulf Of Aden, where temperatures range from 105° F in the summer to 78° F in the winter. In the Northern mountain regions,the climate is moderate,with temperatures ranging between 63° F in the winter to 780 F in the summer.