Shebeli River

Shebeli River, river in eastern Africa, rising in the Ethiopian Highlands and flowing southeast through the arid Ogaden Plateau. The Shebeli River crosses into Somalia north of Beledweyne (Beletwene) and continues south to Balcad, about 20 miles (32 km) from the Indian Ocean, turning southwest there. During heavy-rain periods in Ethiopia, the Shebeli River joins the Jubba (Giuba), and the combined waters then flow to the Indian Ocean. In drier years the Shebeli disappears in a series of marshes and sand flats northeast of the Jubba confluences. The river’s total length is 1,130 miles (1,820 km). The region through which the Shebeli flows is occupied by Somalis, Bantu-speaking people, and Oromo. Cultivation has largely replaced pastoral nomadism in the river’s lower basin, and the bananas grown along the southern reaches of the Shebeli and the Jubba make up a large portion of Somalia’s export trade.