Anseba Region

For the sub-region of Gash Barka, see Logo Anseba.

Anseba Region إقليم عنسبا         ዞባ ኣንሰባ Iqlim 'Anseba      Zoba 'Anseba
Regions
Anseba Region in Eritrea
Country	Eritrea
Capital	Keren
Government
• Administrator	Ali Mahmoud
Area
• Total	23,200 km2 (9,000 sq mi)
Population
• Total	893,587
• Density	39/km2 (100/sq mi)
ISO 3166 code	ER-AN

Anseba Region is an administrative region in the northern Eritrea. The capital and the most populous city in the region is Keren.

Overview

Its capital is Keren and it has an area of about 23,000 km². It is named after the Anseba River around which the region is situated. The river begins in the central Eritrean highland plateau, in the suburbs northwest of the capital Asmara. It then descends northwards into the northwestern lowlands, traversing the mountains of Rora Habab and Sahel before joining the Barka River near the border with Sudan. Other towns in this region include Halhal. The region borders Gash-Barka to the south, the Maekel (Central) region to the south-east, the Northern Red Sea Region to the east and north, and the nation of Sudan to the west.

Districts

The region is divided in ten districts:

• Adi Tekelezan District
• Asmat District
• Elabered District
• Geleb District
• Hagaz District
• Halhal District
• Habero District
• Keren District
• Kerkebet District
• Sela District

Natural history

There are a number of flora and fauna species within this region. Notably this was historic habitat for the endangered painted hunting dog (Lycaon pictus), a canid which is now thought to be extirpated from the region. Eritrea as a whole was extensively forested as recently as 1900. However, at present the total forest cover of Eritrea is less than one percent. The deforestation in Anseba mirrors the country as a whole.

References

• Edward Denison and Edward Paice. 2007. Eritrea, fourth edition, Published by Bradt Travel Guides, 224 pages ISBN 1-84162-171-4, ISBN 978-1-84162-171-5
• C. Michael Hogan. 2009. Painted Hunting Dog: Lycaon pictus, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
• GeoHive global statistics