With hot, dry weather all year around, except at the higher elevations in the north, most of Somalia has a semi-arid to arid environment suitable primarily for the nomadic pastoralism that more than half the population practices.

The Land

Situated in eastern Africa, Somalia forms the cap of the Horn of Africa. Bordered by Kenya in the south, Ethiopia in the west, Djibouti in the northwest, the Gulf of Aden in the north, and the Indian Ocean in the east, Somalia covers an area of about 638,000 square kilometers, making it slightly smaller than Texas. Somalia is mostly flat, rising in the southern and central regions to a few hundred meters above sea level near the Ethiopian border. The higher area is along the northern coast, where mountains rise to some 2,000 meters. Somalia's long coastline—about 3,300 kilometers, the longest in Africa—has been vital to its trade with the Middle East and the rest of East Africa.

Climate is the primary factor in much of Somali life. With hot, dry weather year-round, except at the higher elevations in the north, most of Somalia has a semi-arid to arid environment suitable primarily for the nomadic pastoralism that more than half the population practices. Agriculture is practiced primarily in the northwest and in the interriverine areas in the south.

Somalia has two rainy seasons: the Gu (April to June) and the Dayr (October to November). Droughts usually occur every two to three years in the Dayr and every eight to ten years in both the Dayr and the Gu. The coastal region in the south around Mogadishu and Kismaayo has an additional rainy season, the Xagaaye (July to August), in which isolated rain showers prevail.

In the south, the mean monthly temperature ranges from 68° F and 92° F. The hottest months are February through April. Somalia's hottest climate is on the northern coastal strip along the Gulf of Aden, where temperatures range from 105° F in the summer to 78° F in the winter. In the northern mountain regions, the climate is moderate, with temperatures ranging between 63° F in the winter to 78° F in the summer.

Somalia has only two perennial rivers, the Jubba and the Shabelle. Originating in the Ethiopian highlands, the rivers flow in a generally southerly direction. TheShabelle, the longer of the two, is about 1,800 kilometers, of which 1,000 kilometers are in Somalia. TheShabelle enters Somalia near the southern border town of Beled Weyn and flows toward the coast until it nears Mogadishu, where it turns parallel to the coast and flows southwest before ending in a series of swamp basins that serve as wildlife habitat. In years of high flow, theShabelle merges with the Jubba River and provides water for the most developed and productive irrigated agriculture in the country.

The Jubba River enters Somalia near the southern town of Luuq and flows for 800 kilometers to the coast. It follows a narrow rock stream up to Dujuma, where it meanders in a rich flood plain before flowing to the Indian Ocean.

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