Etbay

a mountainous region in East Africa. Located in Egypt and the Sudan, the Etbay extends along the Red Sea from the Nile delta in the northwest to the spurs of the Ethiopian plateau in the southeast. The average elevation is about 1,000 m, and the maximum is 2,259 m at Jebel Oda. The Etbay is composed of Precambrian schists and gneisses. It falls steeply to the seacoast in the east and in the west it descends in steps. The small amount of precipitation falls only on the eastern slopes in winter. In the arid valleys there is scanty arboreal vegetation, mainly tamarisks, sycamores, and acacias, as well as xerophilous grasses.