Djibouti (city) in the context of "French Somaliland"

Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area of 23,200 km (8,958 sq mi).

In antiquity, the territory, together with Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somaliland, was part of the Land of Punt. Nearby Zeila, now in Somaliland, was the seat of the medieval Adal and Ifat Sultanates. In the late 19th century, the colony of French Somaliland was established after the ruling Dir, Somali, and Afar sultans signed treaties with the French, and its railroad to Dire Dawa (and later Addis Ababa) allowed it to quickly supersede Zeila as the port for southern Ethiopia and the Ogaden. It was renamed the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas in 1967. A decade later, the Djiboutian people voted for independence. This officially marked the establishment of the Republic of Djibouti, named after its capital city. The new state joined the United Nations in its first year. In the early 1990s, tensions over government representation led to armed conflict, which ended in a power-sharing agreement in 2000 between the ruling party and the opposition.

Lake Assal (Arabic: بحيرة عسل Buḥayrah ʿAsal, lit. “Honey Lake”) is a crater lake in central-western Djibouti. It is located at the western end of Gulf of Tadjoura between Arta Region, and Tadjoura Region, touching Dikhil Region, at the top of the Great Rift Valley, some 120 km (75 mi) west of Djibouti city. Lake Assal is a saline lake that lies 155 m (509 ft) below sea level in the Afar Triangle, making it the lowest point on land in Africa and the third-lowest point on Earth after the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. No outflow occurs from the lake, and due to high evaporation, the salinity level of its waters is 10 times that of the sea, making it the fifth most saline body of water in the world, behind Garabogazköl, Lake Retba, Gaet'ale Pond and Lake Elton. The salt in the lake is exploited under four concessions awarded in 2002 at the southeast end of the lake; the major share of production (nearly 80%) is held by Société d’Exploitation du Lac and Société d’Exploitation du Salt Investment S.A de Djibouti.

The lake is a protected zone under Djibouti's National Environmental Action Plan of 2000. However, the law does not define the boundary limits of the lake. Since the exploitation of the salt from the lake was uncontrolled, the Plan has emphasized the need for managing the exploitation to avoid negative impact on the lake environment. The Government of Djibouti has initiated a proposal with UNESCO to declare the Lake Assal zone and the Ardoukoba volcano as a World Heritage Site.

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is a trade bloc in Africa. It includes governments from the Horn of Africa, Nile Valley and the African Great Lakes. It is headquartered in Djibouti.

Arta Region (Arabic: إقليم عرتا, Somali: Gobolka Carta) is one of the six regions of Djibouti. It was officially created in 2003 by the regrouping of sub-prefectures of the regions of Dikhil and Djibouti. It is situated in the south-central of the country, bordering the Tadjoura Region to the north, and the Djibouti Region to the north-east, and Dikhil Region the Ali Sabieh Region to the south, the country of Somaliland lies to the east.

The capital of Arta Region is Arta. Other towns include We`a, Damerjog and Loyada. The Hemed mountain is the highest point in the region of Arta.

Ardoukoba (Arabic: أردوكوبا) is a fissure vents volcano in Djibouti. Located on the coast 100 kilometres (62 mi) from Djibouti City, its summit is situated at 298 metres (978 ft) above sea level. It last erupted in November 1978 following an earthquake, the area having been dormant for 3,000 years. The volcano's rift is 17 kilometres (11 mi) in width, and has a depth of 800 metres (2,600 ft).

The Government of Djibouti has initiated a proposal with UNESCO to declare the Lake Assal zone including the Ardoukoba volcano and its surroundings as a World Heritage Site.