The Nugaal Valley (, ), also called the Nogal Valley, is a long and broad

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

located in northern

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

. The Nugaal Valley is bounded to the north by the Warsangali clan, the Nugal Plateau and to the south by 'Iid.

Overview

The Nugaal Valley is a key pastoral area which spans across four regions, Nugal and

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

and Sool,

Sanaag Sanag (, ) is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in north eastern Somaliland.Regions of Somalia
Sa ...

and

Togdheer Togdheer (, ) is an administrative region (''Administrative divisions of Somaliland, gobol'') in central Somaliland. Togdheer is bordered by Maroodi Jeex to the west, Sahil, Somaliland, Saaxil to the north, Sanaag to the northeast, Sool, Somalia ...

Somaliland Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, E ...

. Pastoral nomadism is the primary way of life for most of the people living in the valley. Goat and camel raising form the basis of the economy, and frankincense and myrrh are collected from wild trees. The beds of the watercourses have a few permanent wells, to which the predominantly nomadic population returns during the dry season. Low and erratic rainfall (about 5 inches 125 mm annually) and the high salinity of the soil limit crop cultivation. The segments of the Nugaal valley from Garowe eastwards is traditionally referred to as ''Bari Nugaaleed'' or ''Bari Nugaal'', whilst segments of the valley which converge into the Iyah plains are called ''Jednugaal''. Nonetheless, the latitudinal limits of ''Nugaal proper'' traditionally refers to the territory stretching from Garowe in the east until Saraar in the west.

Geography

Extending 250 km along the

Wadi Wadi ( ; ) is a river valley or a wet (ephemerality, ephemeral) Stream bed, riverbed that contains water only when heavy rain occurs. Wadis are located on gently sloping, nearly flat parts of deserts; commonly they begin on the distal portion ...

Nugaal The Nugaal () is an intermittent river Intermittent, temporary or seasonal rivers or streams cease to flow every year or at least twice every five years. Such rivers drain large arid and semi-arid areas, covering approximately a third of ...

, the Nugaal Valley is bounded by gradually ascending high plateaus that generally reach elevations of 1,650 to 3,300 feet (500 to 1,000 m) above sea level on the north, west, and south. The western part of the same plateau is crossed by numerous valleys and dry watercourses. The same plateau sloping southwards merges with Hawd, a plain known for its grasslands. To the east is a narrow strip of low-lying maritime plains. The valley's principal watercourses, the

and the more westerly Togdheer river, fill briefly during and after rainstorms (April to June) and drain into the Somali Sea. The upper part of the Nugaal is filled by the seasonal river known as ''Togdheer''.

Kobo

Towards the east, Nugaal Valley is bounded with Nugaaleed-Bari via the region known as Kobo. Kobo was described in colonial sources ruminating about the Darawiish strength as follows:

Sorl

The Sorl, also called the Nugaal plateau, is situated immediately above the Nugaal Valley and has been described in composition as similar to the Haud: The Nugaal plateau, also called Sorl, has an elevation level of about 3000 feet:

Flora and fauna

The main vegetation in the Nugaal valley consists of open grasslands, shrubs (commiphora spp), Acacia trees and dominant grasses (indigofera spp). The valley is home to succulent flora and is particularly rich in local endemics. Gypsum hills located around Las Anod supports flora such as '' Aloe inermis'', '' Dorstenia'', ''

Adenia ''Adenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the passionflower family Passifloraceae. It is distributed in the Old World tropics and subtropics.

'', '' Raphanocarpus'', ''

Euphorbia ''Euphorbia'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family (biology), family Euphorbiaceae. Euphorbias range from tiny annual plants to large and long-lived trees, with perhaps the tallest being ''Eu ...

'', '' Pterodiscus'', and '' Caralluma''. A Las Anod National Park has been proposed to protect the fine scenery, rich and varied flora, and the

Somali wild ass The Somali wild ass (''Equus africanus somaliensis'') is a subspecies of the African wild ass. It is found in Somalia, the Southern Red Sea region of Eritrea, and the Afar Region of Ethiopia. The legs of the Somali wild ass are striped, resemb ...

. The limestone plateau north of Eyl has also been proposed as a national park due to its rich endemic flora.

Oil exploration

Due to its proximity to the oil-rich Gulf Arab states such as

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

and

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

, the nation has also long been believed to contain substantial unexploited reserves of

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...

. Nugaal Valley Block has been identified as having reservoir, source rock and trap potential. International oil and gas companies conducted exploration in the late 1980s in the region. During this exploration phase, a grid of 2D seismic was shot perpendicular to the axis of the rift system in the Nugaal Basin. Based on interpreted maps this data shows a number of large, closed, fault-controlled structures. Between them both, the Nugaal and Dharoor valley have only had 5 wells drilled, making the area one of the least explored areas in North Africa.

References

{{reflist Valleys of Somalia