It lies in the Main Ethiopian Rift valley south of Addis Ababa, in the Abijatta-Shalla National Park.

Along the northeastern corner of this lake are a number of hot springs, which are important both as a tourist attraction and to the local inhabitants.

Additionally, there is a soda ash operation on the shores of this lake, which produces 20,000 tons of sodium carbonate.

Multidisciplinary studies, including the examination of sedimentology, palynology, diatoms and organic matter have been undertaken on a 6 m core from Lake Abijata, Ethiopia.

The transgressions result from changing inputs from lowland and highland regions within the catchment.