Because the city is found within the Great East African Rift Valley, it has a relatively hot climate condition.The two Great Rift Valley lakes of Abaya and Chamo, the Kulfo River and numerous springs and rivers are the important water source of the city. Much closer than the Nech Sar National Park, the city has a large forest resource called Arba Minch Natural Reserve Forest which is found near the town and covers 1,030 hectares of land. Wildlife however is most abundantly found in the park. They include Plains Zebra, Gazelles, Dik Dik, Hippopotamus, African Leopard, Spotted Hyena, Hartebeests, Lions and Cheetahs, bushbucks, waterbucks, bushpigs, Baboons, Monkeys, Jackals as well as birds such as Kingfishers, Storks, Pelicans, Flamingos and Eagles. Unfortunately, due to floods that caused issues with the road this past summer, the Nech Sar National Park was not accessible at all from the entrance nearest to the town of Arba Minch :(

In addition, a stretch of the northwest shore of Lake Chamo, known as the Crocodile Market, is where hundreds of Nile Crocodiles gather to bask in the sun. On our boat ride on the Chamo lake, we were able to catch a glance at some very big, light scaled crocodiles getting their morning warmup in the sun and that was a magical experience.