The Togdheer River () is a seasonal river in the

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 ...

region of central

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 ...

. The region is named after the river. The river's name comes from "Tog" (which means "riverbed" in the

Somali language Somali is an Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language belonging to the Cushitic languages, Cushitic branch, primarily spoken by the Somalis, Somali people, native to Greater Somalia. It is an official language in Somalia, Somaliland, and Ethio ...

) and "dheer" (Somali for "long"). The Togdheer River rises in the foothills of the Golis Mountains, specifically the upper slope of the Ga'an Libah reserve, flows south through the city of

Burao Burao, also spelt Bur'o or Bur'ao (; , , ), is the capital of the Togdheer region and the second largest city in Somaliland. Burao was the site of the Somaliland Declaration of Independence, declaration of an independent Somaliland on 18 May 19 ...

, where it splits the city in half, and then vanishes into the eastern plains of the Togdheer region and the northern part of Sool, where it provides winter sustenance to the arid

Nugaal valley The Nugaal Valley (, ), also called the Nogal Valley, is a long and broad valley located in northern Somalia. The Nugaal Valley is bounded to the north by the Warsangali clan, the Nugal Plateau and to the south by 'Iid. Overview The Nugaal Va ...

. The riverbed is usually dry, but is subject to

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant concern in agriculture, civi ...

when heavy rains fall in the mountains.

Exploration

British explorer John Hanning Speke during his 1854 visit to Somaliland described the Togdheer as a very fertile and beautiful valley, and which forms a flood during the rains that flows towards the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

: Another British explorer, Frank Linsly James, describes the river during his exploratory visit to Somaliland in 1884: James, a guest of Sultan Awad Deria during his visit to Somaliland, describes a performance he witnessed by

Habr Yunis The Habar Yoonis (, full Nasab: '' Said ibn Al-Qādhī Ismā'īl ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad'') alternatively spelled as Habr Yunis is a major clan part of the Garhajis . As descendants of Ismail bin Ishaaq bin Ahmed, Sheikh Isaaq, it ...

Horsemen at the Togdheer in

During our stay at Burao, the Sultan collected a great many of his people together, and twice entertained us with some well-executed and characteristic evolutions on horseback. On the first occasion some forty mounted men were collected in the Tug before our zariba; but this did not satisfy the Sultan, and he arranged a second "fan- tasia," in which fully two hundred warriors were engaged. It was the best and most characteristic thing of the kind I had ever seen. A procession was first formed in the river's bed, and on a given signal all dashed off, brandishing their spears and shields. Dressed in tobes of many colours, and sitting loosely on their gaily caparisoned horses, they engaged in mimic contest with spear and shield, reining their horses upon their haunches when at full gallop, and with wild shouts flinging their spears into the air. Each warrior carried a short-handled whip with a broad raw hide thong, and with it lashed his steed unmercifully. Some of the riders went through regular circus feats, leaping from their horses when at full gallop, picking up objects thrown on the ground, and then remount- ing. After this had continued for some time they would gallop close to our zariba, and reining up, shout "Mort, mort" ("Welcome, welcome"), to which we replied, "Kul liban" ("Thanks").The Unknown Horn of Africa: An Exploration From Berbera to the Leopard River, By Frank Linsly james, p.67

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Somaliland Togdheer