Baro is a tributary of the White Nile. It has its source in the highlands of Illubabor. Among its major tributaries are the Birbir, Bonga, Garre and Pibor. After it enters Sudanese territory, it is known by the name of Sobat. Two major towns along the river are Nasir in the Sudan and Gambella in Ethiopia. The Baro ’s distinctive quality has been its navigability. This fact contributed to the growth of Gambella as a major commercial entrepot in the first half of the 20^th cent. The Anglo-Ethiopian treaty of 1902 (Boundaries), primarily meant to delimit the boundary between Ethiopia and the Sudan, had also provided for the cession of a commercial enclave in Ethiopian territory. Set up in 1904, the Gambella trading post hosted steamers plying to and from the Sudan along the B. during the rainy season, which normally lasted from June till the end of September.

Source:

Encyclopaedia Aethiopica

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