GUBAN

coastal plain, northwestern Somalia, running parallel to the Gulf of Aden for about 150 miles (240 km) between Seylac (Zeila) in the west and Berbera in the east. The Guban (burned) plain narrows gradually from 35 miles (56 km) in the west to about 4 miles (6 km) in the east. Sandy and low-lying (less than 330 feet above sea level), it is characterized by high temperatures and humidity, little rainfall (about 2 inches annually), and sparse steppe vegetation. The plain is traversed by broad and shallow seasonal streams and gives way to the Galgodon Highlands (rising to about 6,500 feet ) on the south. The population is mostly of the Dir and Isaaq clans, who generally raise their camels and goats outside of the Guban near permanent wells in the Galgodon Highlands. Seylac and Barbera are the chief towns. A broad definition of the Guban includes the narrow coastal burnt land extending eastward to the easternmost tip of the northern Somalia coast.