Galla-Somali

a plateau in northeastern Africa on the Somali peninsula. It is composed basically of limestones and sandstones, and it rises in steps from the southeast to the northwest. The northern, highest edge of the Galla-Somali, where there are outcrops of Precambrian crystalline basement rock, drops steeply to the coastal lowland of the Gulf of Aden. The average elevation is 500-1,000 m, with a maximum of 2,406 m. There are numerous shallow basins which were once occupied by lakes. The permanent rivers are the Juba and Webi Shebeli. Sparse woodlands of xerophytic acacia prevail.