Mille is one of the 29 woreda

Woreda

Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...

s in the Afar Region

Afar Region

Afar is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, and is the homeland of the Afar people. Formerly known as Region 2, its current capital is Asayita; a new capital named Semera on the paved Awash - Asseb highway is under construction....

 of 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...

. It is named for the Mille River

Mille River

The Mille River is a river of Ethiopia and a tributary of the Awash. It drains parts of the Semien Wollo and Debub Wollo Zones of the Amhara Region, as well as Administrative Zone 4 of the Afar Region.The explorer L.M...

, a tributary of the Awash River

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...

, which flows through this woreda. Part of the Administrative Zone 1

Administrative Zone 1 (Afar)

Administrative Zone 1 is one of five Zones of the Afar Region of Ethiopia. This zone is bordered on the south by Administrative Zone 3, on the southwest by Administrative Zone 5, on the west by the Amhara Region, on the northwest by Administrative Zones 4 and 2, on the north by Eritrea, and on the...

, Mille is bordered on the south by the Administrative Zone 3

Administrative Zone 3 (Afar)

Administrative Zone 3 is one of five Zones of the Afar Region of Ethiopia. This zone is bordered on the south by the Oromia Region, on the southwest by the Amhara Region, on the west by the Argobba special woreda and Administrative Zone 5, on the north by Administrative Zone 1, and on the east by...

, on the southwest by Administrative Zone 5

Administrative Zone 5 (Afar)

Administrative Zone 5 is one of five Zones of the Afar Region of Ethiopia. Stretching along the eastern base of the Ethiopian highlands, this Zone is bordered on the south and east by Administrative Zone 3, on the west by the Amhara Region, and on the north by Administrative Zone 1...

, on the west by the Amhara Region

Amhara Region

Amhara is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, containing the homeland of the Amhara people. Previously known as Region 3, its capital is Bahir Dar....

, on the northwest by Chifra

Chifra (woreda)

Chifra is one of the 29 woredas in the Afar Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Administrative Zone 1, Chifra is located near the base of the eastern escarpment of the Ethiopian highlands and bordered on the south by Mille, on the west by the Oromia Region, on the north by the Administrative Zone 4,...

, on the northeast by Dubti

Dubti (woreda)

Dubti is one of the 29 woredas in the Afar Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Administrative Zone 1, Dubti is bordered on the south by the Somali Region, on the southwest by Mille, on the west by Chifra, on the northwest by Administrative Zone 4, on the north by the Administrative Zone 2, on the...

, and on the east by the Oromia Region

Oromia Region

Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...

. Towns in Mille include Mille and Eli Wuha.
The highest point in this woreda is Mount Gabillema (1459 meters), a dormant volcano in the southeastern part. Roads in this woreda include the feeder road between Chifra and Mille, which is 105 kilometers in length; it was constructed in two segments between February 1999 and February 2001 by SUR Construction. Important local landmarks include the Yangudi Rassa National Park

Yangudi Rassa National Park

Yangudi Rassa National Park is one of the National Parks of Ethiopia. Located in the Afar Region, its 4730 square kilometers of territory include Mount Yangudi near the southern border and the surrounding Rassa Plains, with altitudes from 400 to 1459 meters above sea level. Sandy semi-desert and...

, which covers the southeast corner of Mille, but not Mount Gabillema; and the archeological sites at Hadar

Hadar, Ethiopia

Hadar is a village in Ethiopia, on the southern edge of the Afar Triangle with a latitude and longitude of approximately . The village is known for the nearby archaeological site....

 and Dikika

Dikika

The Dikika region is an area of the Afar Region of Ethiopia where the hominid fossil named Selam was found...

 where specimens of Australopithecus afarensis

Australopithecus afarensis

Australopithecus afarensis is an extinct hominid that lived between 3.9 and 2.9 million years ago. A. afarensis was slenderly built, like the younger Australopithecus africanus. It is thought that A...

have been recovered.

History

In 2004, grazing conditions in Mille woreda had become degraded due to the encroachment by invasive

Invasive species

"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....

 thick and thorny Prosopis juliflora

Prosopis juliflora

Prosopis juliflora is a shrub or small tree native to Mexico, South America and the Caribbean. It has become established as a weed in Asia, Australia and elsewhere. Its uses include forage, wood and environmental management. The tree grows to a height of up to and has a trunk with a diameter of...

bushes, leading to significant tensions between Issa

Issa (clan)

The Issa are a Somali clan, a sub-clan of the Dir. The Issa primarily reside in Djibouti, the extreme northwestern fringe in the Awdal district of Somaliland in northern Somalia, as well as the Shinile Zone located in the Somali Region of Ethiopia.-Lineage:...

 and Afar

Afar people

The Afar , also known as the Danakil, are an ethnic group in the Horn of Africa. They primarily live in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and in northern Djibouti, although some also inhabit the southern point of Eritrea.-Early history:...

 herders, due to the resulting scarcity of pasturage.

On 4 February 2007, the Afar Regional Cabinet approved the division of this woreda, creating a new woreda out of the western part, with its administrative center to be at Hadar. The Ethiopian paleoanthropologist Yohannes Haile-Selassie

Yohannes Haile-Selassie

Dr. Yohannes Haile-Selassie is an Ethiopian paleoanthropologist. An authority on pre-Homo sapiens hominids, he particularly focuses his attention on the Great Rift Valley and Middle Awash Valleys of East Africa....

 led a number of digs in this woreda between 2004 and 2007.

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency

Central Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)

The Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...

of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 90,673, of whom 49,705 are men and 40,968 women; with an area of 5,345.71 square kilometers, Mille has a population density of 16.96. While 14,208 or 15.67% are urban inhabitants, a further 66,212 or 73.02% are pastoralists. A total of 14,515 households were counted in this woreda, which results in an average of 6.2 persons to a household, and 15,642 housing units.

External links

• Article about discovery of hominid remains (July 2007)