Woina Dega

(Amharic, literally “grape zone”; woina— from Greek oinos, wine), the central temperate high belt of the Ethiopian plateau, with elevations of 1,700 or 1,800 m to 2,400 m. The warmest month is March, when the average temperature is 16°-18° C, and the coolest is June (13° C). Precipitation is up to 1,500-2,000 mm a year.

On the plateau there are park savannas on red soil, and in the mountains there are forests on detritus brown soil. Up to 2,100 m the forests are mostly deciduous, but at higher elevations they are coniferous (yew andPodocarpus). Many of the most important crops are native to the savannas of the Woina Dega belt—grasses (wheat, barley, and millet) as well as flax, peas, and other crops. The Woina Dega is the most heavily populated belt of the Ethiopian plateau. Grains, including corn and local types of grasses such as teff and raggee, are grown, as well as tobacco, oil-producing plants, citrus fruits, and grapes. There are coffee plantations in the southern and southwestern Woina Dega, up to 2,000 m in elevation.