Omo River

Lower Valley of the Omo
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Omo River near Omorati
LocationEthiopia
CriteriaCultural: (iii)(iv)
Reference17
Inscription1980 (4th Session)
Coordinates4°48′N 35°58′E / 4.800°N 35.967°E / 4.800; 35.967
Omo River is located in Ethiopia
Omo River
Location of Omo River in Ethiopia

The Omo River (Amharic: ኦሞ ወንዝ, romanizedOmo Wenizi; also called Omo-Bottego) in southern Ethiopia is the largest Ethiopian river outside the Nile Basin. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia, and it empties into Lake Turkana on the border with Kenya. The river is the principal stream of an endorheic drainage basin, the Turkana Basin.

The river basin is famous for its large number of early hominid fossils and archeological findings such as early stone tools, leading to its inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1980.[1]

  1. ^ "Lower Valley of the Omo". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 18 September 2021.