Sudan to exert authority over a region that is part of Ethiopia, and Ethiopia was reluctant to police this remote region and become involved in the politics of Sudan's internal conflicts. Vittorio Bottego, who explored the area in the later 1890s, proposed naming the river after Admiral Simone Antonio Saint-Bon. The only navigable river in Ethiopia, the Baro's most important city is Gambela, which served as a port from 1907 until the 1990s when civil war in Ethiopia and Sudan forced shipping on the river to be halted. The Italian L. Usoni unsuccessfully prospected for gold in the Baro river valley, and published his findings in 1952. The second-longest bridge in Ethiopia crosses the Baro, connecting two parts of the Gambela Region. This bridge is 305 meters long. See also List of rivers of Ethiopia List of rivers of South Sudan References Rivers of Ethiopia Rivers of South Sudan Sobat River International rivers of Africa Ethiopian Highlands Ethiopia–South Sudan border Geography of Oromia Region Gambela Region Greater Upper Nile Upper Nile (state) Border rivers Important Bird Areas of Ethiopia