Mount Gurage, located in central Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

, is the highest point of not only the Gurage Zone

Gurage Zone

Gurage is a Zone in the Ethiopian Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region . This zone is named for the Gurage people, whose homeland lies in this zone. Gurage is bordered on the south by Hadiya on the west north and east by the Oromia Region, and on the southeast by Silte. Its highest...

 but the entire Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region. It has a latitude and longitude of 8°17′N 38°23′E and an elevation of 3719 meters above sea level.

Mount Gurage is described as part of an upwarped massif, which overlooks the Rift Valley

Rift Valley

In order of specificity, Rift Valley can refer to:*a rift valley in general*the Great Rift Valley*the Rift Valley fever*the valley of the East African Rift*Rift Valley Province, Kenya and border with Uganda...

. This massif is composed of layers of silicic

Silicic

Silicic is a term used to describe magma or igneous rock rich in silica. The amount of silica that constitutes a silicic rock is usually put at at least 65 percent. Granite and rhyolite are typical silicic rocks....

 lavas and tuff

Tuff

Tuff is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered...

s, except for the summit line which is hidden by the Rift Valley tuffs. It forms part of the divide separating the drainage basins of the Awash

Awash River

The Awash is a major river of Ethiopia. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia, and empties into a chain of interconnected lakes that begin with Lake Gargori and end with Lake Abbe on the border with Djibouti, some 100 kilometers from the head of the Gulf of Tadjoura...

 and Omo River

Omo River

The Omo River is an important river of southern Ethiopia. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia, and empties into Lake Turkana on the border with Kenya...

s.