The Tekezé River, also known as the Takkaze River,[1] is a major river of Ethiopia, and forms a section the westernmost border of Ethiopia and Eritrea for part of its course. The river is also known as the Setit in Eritrea, western Ethiopia, and eastern Sudan. According to materials published by the Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency, the Tekezé River is 608 kilometers (378 mi) long.[2] The canyon which it has created is the deepest in Africa and one of the deepest in the world, at some points having a depth of over 2000 meters (6,562 feet).[3]
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The Tekezé River rises in the central Ethiopian Highlands near Mount Qachen within Lasta, from where it flows west, north, then west again, forming the westernmost border of Ethiopia and Eritrea from the confluence of the Tomsa with the Tekezé at to the tripoint between the two countries and Sudan at .[4] After entering northeastern Sudan, at the Tekezé joins the Atbarah River, the lower course of which is a tributary of the Nile. The Tekezé is perhaps the true upper course of the Atbarah, as the former follows the longer course prior to the confluence of the two rivers.
The names of its main tributaries in Ethiopia from its source are: on the right bank Tahali, Meri, Tellare, Sullo, Arekwa, Gheoa, Wari, Firafira, Tocoro and Gumalo Rivers; on the left bank Nili, Balagas, Saha, Bembea, Ataba, Zarima, and Kwalema Rivers.
The earliest known mention of the Tekezé is in an inscription from Axum of king Ezana of Axum, where he boasts of a victory in a battle on its lower banks, near "the ford of Kemalke".[5] The Tekezé served as an early link between Ethiopia and Egypt; for example, the Kebra Nagast, which received its current form in the 13th century, states that king Menelik I returned to Ethiopia by following this river from Egypt (ch. 53). Augustus B. Wylde records a related tradition that near the source of the Tekezé, at the location of Eyela Kudus Michael church, is the true resting-place of the Ark of the Covenant.[6]
In February and March 1936, during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, thousands of Ethiopian troops were killed when the Italian Royal Air Force (Regia Aeronautica) attacked them with bombs and mustard gas as they retreated across the Tekezé.[7]
The Ethiopian government announced in July, 2002, that they had formed a partnership with the China National Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Corporation to construct a hydroelectric dam on the Tekezé, which would generate 300 megawatts of electricity. The project would cost US$ 224 million, and take five years to complete.[8] Oweys Ibrahim, the project coordinator, announced 12 December 2007 that construction was 82% complete, and included a 105-kilometer power line to Mekele.[9]
The Tekeze Hydro Electric project aims to construct the Highest double curve arch dam in Africa, topping the current highest, Lesotho. The contractors behind the project are CWGS and completion is scheduled to occur in 2009.
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