Outline Of Mozambique: Geography, Resources, Flora And Fauna

At 799,380 sq km, Mozambique is the world's 36th-largest country. Mozambique is around the size of the collective land area of Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It is bordered to the west by Zimbabwe, to the east by the Mozambique Channel that separates it from Madagascar, to the northwest by Zambia, Malawi, and Lake Nyasa, to the north by Tanzania, and, to the south and southwest by South Africa and Swaziland. Mozambique contains 2,470 km of coastline, which has some of the best harbors in Africa.

56.3% of the land is agricultural, and 43.7% is forest. 1,180 sq km of land is irrigated.

The southern provinces are predominantly made up of lowlands, diminishing to a meager coastal plain north of the cleft where the Zambezi River cuts through the middle of the country. The Zambezi valley, the lower segment of which is a part of the Eastern Rift Valley, is Mozambique’s most impressive geographic feature. Throughout the country the land rises moderately from east to west.

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In the center and north it slopes gradually into the high plains and eventually to the mountainous regions on the northwest border with Malawi and Zambia. Monte Binga is the highest mountain in Mozambique, with an elevation of 8,004 feet.

Mozambique’s plentiful water resources have the potential to recompense for the mixed quality of its soils. The Rovuma River outlines the majority of Mozambique’s northern border with Tanzania. The Zambezi River and its tributaries dominate the central region. The Zambezi flows 819 km through the country and drains 225,000 square km.

Mozambique shares the borders of Lakes Nyasa, Chiuta, and Chilwa with Malawi, but apart from these and the lakes made by the country’s hydroelectric dam network, the country has no important lakes.

Mozambique is located mostly in the tropics, and much of the coastline has regular seasonal Indian Ocean monsoon rains. With the exclusion of highland areas, where elevation modifies both temperature and humidity, the climate is seasonal and tropical. Temperatures in the country average in the mid- to upper 70s °F, with the highest temperatures occurring between October and February and the lowest in June and July. Humidity and precipitation fluctuate extensively throughout the country. The largest difference is between north and south.

Although Mozambique has some thick forests in the Chimoio Plateau, most of the northern and east-central regions are open forest. Mozambique has many national parks. The country’s wildlife includes lions, elephants, zebras, leopards, antelopes, giraffes, warthogs, baboons, water buffalo, and numerous other species. Crocodiles dwell in slow-moving waterways. Snakes live throughout the country. Flamingos, storks, cranes, and other tropical water birds exist throughout Mozambique but are more frequent in the northeast. Game birds include guinea fowl, partridge, quail, and a range of geese and ducks. Hunting and eco-tourism is very important to the local economy.