Didessa River
| Didessa River | |
|---|---|
Map showing the Abbay (Blue Nile) basin, with the Didessa River (Center bottom) | |
| Location | |
| Country | Ethiopia |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mouth | Blue Nile |
• coordinates | 9°56′32″N 35°41′03″E / 9.942087°N 35.684299°E |
• elevation | 632 m (2,073 ft) |
| Basin size | 25,800 km2 (10,000 sq mi) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Blue Nile → Nile → Mediterranean Sea |
| River system | Nile Basin |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Dabena River |
| • right | Hanger |
The Didessa (pronounced: ɗeɗ:e:s:a; Oromo: Dhedheessa) is a river in western Ethiopia. A tributary of the Abay River, it rises in the mountains of Gomma, flowing in a northwesterly direction to its confluence where the course of the Abay has curved to its southernmost point before turning northwards. The Didessa's drainage area is about 25,800 km2 (10,000 sq mi), covering portions of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region and the West Welega Zone of the Oromia Region.
Tributaries on the right bank include the Enareya, Aet, Wama, and the Angar rivers; on the left side the most important tributary is the Dobana River. Exploring this river in the mid-1890s and from interviews with local inhabitants, Alexander Bulatovich asserted that downstream of its junction with the Angar, the Didessa is rapid-free and potentially navigable.