Muger River

The Muger River is a north-flowing tributary of the Abay River in central Ethiopia, which is notable for its deep gorge. Its confluence with the Abay is at 9°54′N 37°56′E / 9.9°N 37.933°E / 9.9; 37.933Coordinates: 9°54′N 37°56′E / 9.9°N 37.933°E / 9.9; 37.933. Tributaries of the Muger include the Labbu. The Muger has a drainage area of about 8,188 square kilometers.^[1]

The Muger is important as a landmark because it marked the eastern boundary of the kingdom of Damot (before the Great Oromo migration forced that people across the Abay) and the western one of the district of Selale.^[2] Somewhere in the Guder-Muger valleys, the first recorded dinosaur fossil in the Horn of Africa was discovered in 1976. It was a single tooth of a carnosaur.^[3]

Notes

1. ^ "Tana & Beles Integrated Water Resources Development: Project Appraisal Document (PAD), Vol.1", World Bank, 2 May 2008 (accessed 5 May 2009)
2. ^ G.W.B. Huntingford, Historical Geography of Ethiopia from the first century AD to 1704 (London: British Academy, 1989), p. 69
3. ^ "Local History in Ethiopia" (pdf) The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 10 July 2008)