Dogu’a Tembien holds numerous prehistoric sites, which have been dated to the Middle Stone Age in Ayninbirkekin,[2] or Pastoral Neolithic in Aregen and Menachek.

They are often located not far from the highest points, what indicates the magnitude of the relief Since ages, major footpaths and roads in Dogu’a Tembien have been using mountain passes, called ksad, what means "neck" in Tigrinya language.

[12] As of 2020, Dogu'a Tembien's territory belongs to the following new woredas:[citation needed] The East African Orogeny led to the growth of a mountain chain in the Precambrian (up to 800 million years ago or Ma), that was largely eroded afterwards.

[13][14][15] Around 600 Ma, the Gondwana break-up led to the presence of tectonic structures and a Palaeozoic planation surface, that extents to the north and west of the Dogu'a Tembien massif.

The break-up of Gondwana (Late Palaeozoic to Early Triassic) led to an extensional tectonic phase, what caused the lowering of large parts of the Horn of Africa.

After that, the deposition of continental sediments (Amba Aradam Formation) indicates the presence of less shallow seas, what was probably caused by a regional uplift.

In the beginning of the Caenozoic, there was a relative tectonic quiescence, during which the Amba Aradam Sandstones were partially eroded what led to the formation of a new planation surface.

[18] In the Eocene, the Afar plume a broad regional uplift deformed the lithosphere, leading to the eruption of flood basalts.

A mere thickness of 400 metres of basalt indicates that the pre-trap rock topography was more elevated in Dogu'a Tembien as compared to more southerly areas.

[20] A new magma intrusion occurred in the Early Miocene, what gave rise to a few phonolite plugs in Dogu’a Tembien.

The 364-metres long oval gallery displays stalactites, stalagmites, decametre-high columns, bell-holes following joints, and speleothems on walls and floor.

The Kidane Mihret rock church at Ab’aro (13°44.5′N 39°12.06′E / 13.7417°N 39.20100°E / 13.7417; 39.20100), is surrounded by tufa plugs, springs and a cluster of trees.

[33] Northwest of Abiy Addi, the Geramba rock church (13°38.84′N 39°1.55′E / 13.64733°N 39.02583°E / 13.64733; 39.02583) is hewn in Tertiary silicified limestone, high up near the top to of the mountain.

The ceiling holds longitudinal beams that form a continuous lintel, which is similar to traditional Tigrayan workmanship.

Here, in the 1980s, the party established underground rooms and offices cut out in sandstone cliffs, the TPLF carried out its political activities, including a major land reform; it was from here that the offensives were organised till the conquest of Addis Ababa in 1991.

Main tributaries in Dogu’a Tembien, from upstream to downstream, are[10] At the lower part of the Antalo Limestone, where it lies on the Adigrat Sandstone, there are high discharge resurgences that drain the karst aquifer.

Main reservoirs are: The soils of Dogu’a Tembien reflect its longstanding agricultural history, highly seasonal rainfall regime, relatively low temperatures, an extremely great variety in lithology (with dominance of basalts and limestone) and steep slopes.

[47] On the other hand, it remains difficult to convince farmers to carry out measures within the farmland (in situ soil management), such as bed and furrows or zero grazing, as there is a fear for loss of income from the land.

Besides effects on biodiversity,[59][60][61] water infiltration, protection from flooding, sediment deposition,[47] carbon sequestration,[62] people commonly have economic benefits from these exclosures through grass harvesting, beekeeping and other non-timber forest products.

[70] - Cercopithecus aethiops; grivet monkey, ወዓግ (wi’ag) - Crocuta crocuta, spotted hyena, ዝብኢ (zibi) - Caracal caracal, caracal, ጭክ ኣንበሳ (ch’ok anbessa) - Panthera pardus, leopard, ነብሪ (nebri) - Xerus rutilus, unstriped ground squirrel, ምጹጽላይ or ጨጨራ (mitsutsilay, chechera) - Canis mesomelas, black-backed jackal, ቡኳርያ (bukharya) - Canis anthus, golden jackal, ቡኳርያ (bukharya) - Papio hamadryas, hamadryas baboon, ጋውና (gawina) - Procavia capensis, rock hyrax, ጊሐ (gihè) - Felis silvestris, African wildcat, ሓክሊ ድሙ (hakili dummu) - Civettictis civetta, African civet, ዝባድ (zibad) - Papio anubis, olive baboon, ህበይ (hibey) - Ichneumia albicauda, white-tailed mongoose, ፂሒራ (tsihira) - Herpestes ichneumon, large grey mongoose, ፂሒራ (tsihira) - Hystrix cristata, crested porcupine, ቅንፈዝ (qinfiz) - Oreotragus oreotragus; klipspringer, ሰስሓ (sesiha) - Orycteropus afer, aardvark, ፍሒራ (fihira) - Genetta genetta, common genet, ስልሕልሖት (silihlihot) - Lepus capensis, cape hare, ማንቲለ (mantile) - Mellivora capensis, honey badger, ትትጊ (titigi) The most common pest rodents with widespread distribution in agricultural fields and storage areas in Dogu’a Tembien (and in Tigray) are three Ethiopian endemic species: the Dembea grass rat (Arvicanthis dembeensis, sometimes considered a subspecies of Arvicanthis niloticus), Ethiopian white-footed rat (Stenocephalemys albipes), and Awash multimammate mouse (Mastomys awashensis).

Black-winged Lovebird, Banded Barbet, Golden-mantled or Abyssinian Woodpecker, Montane White-eye, Rüppell's Robin-chat, Abyssinian Slaty Flycatcher and Tacazze Sunbird are found in evergreen forest, mountain woodlands and areas with scattered trees including fig trees, Euphorbia abyssinica and Juniperus procera.

Hemprich's Hornbill and White-rumped Babbler are found in bushland, scrubland and dense secondary forest, often near cliffs, gorges or water.

[73] Livestock are mainly a source of energy, hence they are part of the permanent farming system: oxen are ploughing and threshing and thus essential for crop production.

[73][75] Donkeys provide energy: they transport heavy loads such as crop harvests, large stones for building, and traded goods.

[78] Some examples: In the Giba River gorge, the peasants care seasonally for communal incense trees (Boswellia papyrifera).

Churches and monasteries in the woreda that contain historical manuscripts and artefacts include:[1] Cattle, and particularly oxen, traditionally have social, economic and insurance value.

There is for instance a gendered division of labour, as women are traditionally focussed on weeding and harvesting, as well as activities at home, and men work in the fields at ploughing and threshing times.

Ingredients are water, a home-baked and toasted flat bread commonly made from barley in the highlands,[80][81][82] and from sorghum, finger millet or maize in the lower areas,[83] some yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae),[84] and dried leaves of gesho (Rhamnus prinoides) that serve as a catalyser.

[85] The brew is allowed to ferment for a few days, after which it is served, sometimes with the pieces of bread floating on it (the customer will gently blow them to one side of the beaker).

[86] Touristic attractions, potential for geotourism and trekking are detailed in the articles related to municipalities of Dogu'a Tembien.