Kesho Hot Springs

Kesho Hot Springs in Ethiopia's Afar Zone, within or near Awash National Park, are oligomineral and mildly sulfurous springs in the East African Rift landscape where geothermal activity punctuates a semi-arid savanna environment inhabited by Afar pastoralists and a rich wildlife community. The springs provide warm water resources in an otherwise arid and water-stressed landscape, attracting both wildlife and the Afar people who have adapted their nomadic pastoralism to this extreme environment. Kesho's geothermal setting within the Awash River ecosystem — one of Ethiopia's most important for both biodiversity and the livelihoods of Afar communities — reflects the complex interplay of geology, ecology, and human culture that defines the East African Rift's human and natural landscape.