Geology

A large part of Ethiopia is mountainous, the Highland known as the Ethiopian Plateau, The setting of the proposed park area is on a mountain ridge that comes from the north and bends just where the capital is situated and then descends to the west. The mountain of Entoto, like the bulk of the plateau, consists of volcanic rocks (Egziabher 1988), like reddish rhyolite, trachytes, ignimbrites, tuffs and welded tuffs (Mehari), and black glassy obsidian.

Obsidian can be used in decorative ways for building and paving, and welded tuffs are often easy to quarry and can be used for durable construction works or even carved out into caves (Lutgens 1986). The typical soil type of the Ethiopian plateau is Alfisol, described by Foth (1984) as one of the better soils for agricultural use. The principal suborder here is a reddish-brown Ustalf, and cultivation on this type of soil will cause severe erosion by heavy rains (Håkan Blanck and Pia Englund, Entoto Natural Park 1995).

Mountainous Rock Pools On the High Plateau

Direction Map to the Alluring Past

The High Rock Pools Above the Abyss of Bees' Cliff (14). 

The picture shows a natural pool at the first southern rim ledge of the high plateau. The scene is reminiscent of an invitingly wild and deep rock bath. The location of this bath is just a few steps above the hidden stone chamber, which forms the northern preamble to the abyss of Bees' Cliff (14), in absolute proximity to the breathtaking view above the Canyon (35).

A  Lost World, Veiled in Aeons of the Past.
These baths are located just a few steps above the hidden stone chamber in absolute proximity to the waterfall and the abyss. This highly located site forms the northern preamble to the abyss of Bees' Cliff (14). Furthermore, the place is expressed as the southern rim of the high plateau and includes as a last step these oddly cosy and rather deep-cut baths just a few degrees above the hidden mountain vault above Bees' Cliff (14) and its abyss.

Geology and Ecology for Water Creation 

The Torrential Rains and Erosion

Indigenous Vegetation for Creation of Groundwater

The natural forest area with the native undergrowth is crucial for conserving species richness in animals and plants. This wild forest and scrub are also essential for creating groundwater in the natural mountain reservoirs in the underground aquifers. Naturally, high importance should prioritize the natural forest on the mountain massifs.

Native Vegetation and its Unique Soils
These phenomena are entirely interconnected, and the indigenous vegetation is crucial for distributing rainwater and preventing erosion. This original soil exists in natural areas with complete undergrowth and indigenous biological micro-structure, unique to such places as established national parks with superior qualities in the ability to withstand erosion.

Climate and seasonal situation during the period of the bath photos.

The photos of water-filled streams and cascading waterfalls are all shot just above Bees' Cliff (14) at Entoto's southern highland plateau - from early October to the beginning of November. It has at the time that all of these active water sports photographs passed about one to two months since the long rainy season ended. This presence of flowing freshwater meant that it was not rainwater pours in its origin, but instead chilled and underground fresh spring water. The reason for this phenomenon of freshwater is simply highlands and mountains are affected by gravity, which naturally downloads the torrential deluges from the rainy seasons into the natural aquifers.

Characterized by frigid nights average temperature of mountain Entoto's plateau is characterized by chilly nights, with an average temperature of about 12 ° C. Thus, the result of these long and cold nights, in turn, determines the degree of cooling in the mentioned source water in the bath images. Important and crucial here is not to start with any baths before the sun warms up the surrounding rocks. Usually, this comfortable warmed rock degree occurs at about lunchtime and invites to the relaxing half hour or more extended warming sunbathing. These were unforgettable and beautiful experiences at the stream of very well-formed and clean rocks above Bees' Cliff.

Caution: Waterlogged Mountainsides

Sudden influxes of water in the mountains can lead to instability and damage to the vacuum-anchoring suction effect, which is a result of gravity pressure built up over time in the layers of the hillside. Furthermore, a previous reduction of trees removes the reinforcement from roots, causing the slopes to become even more saturated and fragile due to the loss of strength from the tree roots and increased lubrication from the water masses.

The vacuum-anchoring suction effect results from gravity pressure
built up over time in the layers of the hillside. However, with a
previous reduction of trees removing the stability from roots,
while fragility caused by adding swales, the slopes become
saturated and fragile. Due to the loss from the roots,
swales threaten to lubricate into landslides.
Water and Land Restoration

Collapsing Mountainsides

There is thus a delicate balance between, on the one hand, creating clean water from rain in the mountains of the highlands and, at the same time, avoiding the danger of waterlogging in the soil layer, developing low friction between the sliding layers with an imminent risk of landslides. Apart from introducing low friction on slopes, an additional and severe risk exists when swales accumulate a large amount of water over their longer extent. Therefore, an obvious danger prevails here that the force of torrential rains, at last, will find a weakness at some point along the prolonged trench of the swale with the consequence that water creates a hazardous effect of sudden breakthrough over a sensitive downhill.

The Danger of Swales and Lahars

The artificially built-up load and lubrication effect from a waterlogged mountainside is at the centre of this precarious problem. With their treacherously efficient irrigation of young plants, swales are within the problem's centre of these artificially waterlogged layers with their hazardous effects of instability. Unfortunately, the imminent danger is harboured here since the missing original forest. Therefore, the slope lacks the strength from the roots of the more giant trees and their undergrowth, where then waterlogged ditches over longer stretches of hillsides make a risky outcome with sudden landslides or breaching through soil walls.

The Background to Landslides 
In Mountainsides and Slopes

The accumulated energy in the waterlogged trenches with a series of propagating swales over a hillside constitutes an imminent threat of causing collapsing the swales' earth walls or even an overwhelming risk of turning the hillside into devastating landslides. At the centre of this delicate problem is the background to the swales' creation with their treacherously efficient irrigation of young plants. The imminent danger is harboured here since the missing original forest, and thereby, the slope lost its strength from the roots of the more giant trees and their undergrowth. Consequently, it appears within hillsides an apparent reason to instead restore with terraced micro basins or keyline permaculture design. In contrast to the previous example of the diminutive gradient of gentle hillsides, the steeper slopes require an even more elaborated restoration with terraces which, in addition, to sensitive places for increased safety and environmental restoration, may need steel-wired anchoring in the bedrock.

 

The Loss of Aeons' Evolutionary Stability

These roots from native trees withhold a mighty legacy from prehistory, where they optimized the ground and the landscape in a delicate synergy with the trees to give colossal stamina to the landscape's slopes automatically. Hence, with the trees' removal, the hillside can find itself in a treacherous hidden balancing act of being unable to maintain stability in the soil and clay layers. Here the core of the problem emerges through the violent tree reduction that has created arid, brittle and silty slopes on the precipices of their existence. Applying large masses of water over longer stretches of hillsides thus makes a perilous outcome where sudden landslides or breaching through with the accumulated energy in the waterlogged trenches with a serial of the swales' earth walls collapsing is an overwhelming danger.

 

The Science of Ancient Ethiopian Trees

Biodiversity: DNA Selection for a Site
(Oxford Academic)

Choosing the Right Mother Tree for Seed

The distant location but within the same country, developed fauna and flora have undergone an extremely long evolutionary optimization to best adapt to the unique condition of its geological and surrounding genetic characteristics. The unique habitat in a particular region within a country imprinted the native indigenous to receive their distinctive property of plant and wildlife depending on the remoteness unique climate. 

The Importance of Seed's Evolutionary Heritage

Hence, due to this isolated location on a country's mountainside or within its secluded gorge, the endemic tree created the specificity of their genetic heritage and the soil's uniqueness. Therefore, the trees' genetic background and evolutionary connection to a country's landscape make a precious legacy for their seeds, which inherits well-adapted genetic characteristics to the location's biological uniqueness. Entoto Natural Park: Biodiversity

Climate Zones Due to Terrain

Hence, the genetic legacy's impact in Ethiopia's various climates and altitudes creates trees that, although belonging to the same species, developed a difference in genetic heritage to deal with these different climate zones. Therefore, it's crucial to consider the uniqueness of DNA when selecting the appropriate seed for a particular location. Thus, making the mistake of using the seed from a tree with its genetic origin from a moist and shady gorge as seedlings on a dry southern slope undermines these trees' ability to survive and other organisms, including human's existence.

Enchanting Brooks and Waterfall

The High Plateau of Entoto Natural Park

Wildlife Views and Meandering Rivers

This plateau just above Bees' Cliff 14 (see the picture above) is a magnificent place with a great panorama view over the stream and many characters in the landscape. When the scene turns south, the abyss Bees' Cliff (14), the ravine, is very close, where the river's further gorge meandering (35) becomes intuitively felt through the profound cooling airflow rising from the unknown abyss below the field of view.

Natural Rock Pools Above the Dramatic Abyss of Bees' Cliff

The pictures' location with the spring water and natural pools is at the southern rim ledge of the high plateau, within the map loop (14) including (41- 42). The scene is reminiscent of invitingly wild rock baths close to the breathtaking view above the Canyon (35). These baths' location is just a few steps above the hidden stone chamber, which forms the gate to the waterfall and the northern preamble to Bees' Cliff's abyss (14).

Assistance Directions: [A] - (B) - (14)

Unique Adventures

With Safety Preparations 

[CAUTION] - Precautionary Commitments

Qualifications and care are necessary as the hiking trails are either unusually varied or dramatic in their diversity propagation up to Entoto's high plateau. No concealed walk in the dry creek bed of the Canyon should be done without company, depending on the possible risk of injury, fatigue, or heart fragility. Still, at least one more person requires this type of concealed seasonal hiking. At least two litres of water per person in unbreakable bottles is a minimum for these Highlands adventures to Bees' Cliff (14).

However, be careful and expect the worst scenario because the animals are wild. Even the most solid rock will break if bad luck and a rare and significant earthquake coincide.

14. **Enchanting Lush Attractions Above the Abyss

 Bees' Cliff constitutes a hidden, unknown void, which can become a real danger and does not allow direct, easy proximity from either the east or the west side of the gorge's slopes. These precipitous cliff sides are so seriously too steep that all visual contacts toward the bottom of the abyss are impossible. In all their Nature, a multi-dimensional, graceful beauty is nevertheless a false invitation of safety delivered. Through this deceiving natural trickery, the eastern Canyon's slope gives an impression of invitingly lush beauty but a treacherous one with a fertile green breathtaking threshold, hiding a shocking void.