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125-468: Hwange National Park (formerly Wankie Game Reserve ) is the largest natural reserve in Zimbabwe . It is around 14,600 sq km in area. It lies in the northwest of the country, just off the main road between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls . The nearest town is Dete . Histories of the region's pre-colonial days and its development as a game reserve and National Park are available online Hwange National Park
250-488: A Shona term for Great Zimbabwe , a medieval city ( Masvingo ) in the country's south-east. Two different theories address the origin of the word. Many sources hold that "Zimbabwe" derives from dzimba-dza-mabwe , translated from the Karanga dialect of Shona as "houses of stones" ( dzimba = plural of imba , "house"; mabwe = plural of ibwe , "stone"). The Karanga-speaking Shona people live around Great Zimbabwe in
375-423: A mantle wedge above the descending slab. The slab releases water vapor and other volatiles as it descends, which further lowers the melting point, further increasing the amount of decompression melting. Each tectonic setting produces basalt with its own distinctive characteristics. The mineralogy of basalt is characterized by a preponderance of calcic plagioclase feldspar and pyroxene . Olivine can also be
500-464: A presidential election along with a parliamentary election . The results of this election were withheld for two weeks, after which it was generally acknowledged that the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC-T) had achieved a majority of one seat in the lower house of parliament. In September 2008, a power-sharing agreement was reached between Tsvangirai and President Mugabe, permitting
625-578: A self-governing British colony , subsequent to a 1922 referendum . Rhodesians of all races served on behalf of the United Kingdom during the two World Wars in the early-20th century. Proportional to the white population, Southern Rhodesia contributed more per capita to both the First and Second World Wars than any other part of the empire, including Britain. The 1930 Land Apportionment Act restricted black land ownership to certain segments of
750-493: A basalt is diagnostic of how and where it erupted—for example, whether into the sea, in an explosive cinder eruption or as creeping pāhoehoe lava flows, the classic image of Hawaiian basalt eruptions. Basalt that erupts under open air (that is, subaerially ) forms three distinct types of lava or volcanic deposits: scoria ; ash or cinder ( breccia ); and lava flows. Basalt in the tops of subaerial lava flows and cinder cones will often be highly vesiculated , imparting
875-415: A coinage by the black nationalist Michael Mawema, whose Zimbabwe National Party became the first to officially use the name in 1961. The term "Rhodesia"—derived from the surname of Cecil Rhodes , the primary instigator of British colonisation of the territory—was perceived by African nationalists as inappropriate because of its colonial origin and connotations. According to Mawema, black nationalists held
1000-442: A distinctive pillow shape, through which the hot lava breaks to form another pillow. This "pillow" texture is very common in underwater basaltic flows and is diagnostic of an underwater eruption environment when found in ancient rocks. Pillows typically consist of a fine-grained core with a glassy crust and have radial jointing. The size of individual pillows varies from 10 cm up to several metres. When pāhoehoe lava enters
1125-427: A flow can shrink in the vertical dimension without fracturing, it cannot easily accommodate shrinking in the horizontal direction unless cracks form; the extensive fracture network that develops results in the formation of columns . These structures, or basalt prisms , are predominantly hexagonal in cross-section, but polygons with three to twelve or more sides can be observed. The size of the columns depends loosely on
1250-465: A high content of plagioclase; these are sometimes described as leucobasalts . It can be difficult to distinguish between lighter-colored basalt and andesite , so field researchers commonly use a rule of thumb for this purpose, classifying it as basalt if it has a color index of 35 or greater. The physical properties of basalt result from its relatively low silica content and typically high iron and magnesium content. The average density of basalt
1375-621: A lightweight "frothy" texture to the rock. Basaltic cinders are often red, coloured by oxidized iron from weathered iron-rich minerals such as pyroxene . ʻAʻā types of blocky cinder and breccia flows of thick, viscous basaltic lava are common in Hawaiʻi. Pāhoehoe is a highly fluid, hot form of basalt which tends to form thin aprons of molten lava which fill up hollows and sometimes forms lava lakes . Lava tubes are common features of pāhoehoe eruptions. Basaltic tuff or pyroclastic rocks are less common than basaltic lava flows. Usually basalt
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#17327800929601500-623: A lower total content of alkali oxides than trachybasalt and most basanites and tephrites. Basalt generally has a composition of 45–52 wt% SiO 2 , 2–5 wt% total alkalis, 0.5–2.0 wt% TiO 2 , 5–14 wt% FeO and 14 wt% or more Al 2 O 3 . Contents of CaO are commonly near 10 wt%, those of MgO commonly in the range 5 to 12 wt%. High-alumina basalts have aluminium contents of 17–19 wt% Al 2 O 3 ; boninites have magnesium (MgO) contents of up to 15 percent. Rare feldspathoid -rich mafic rocks, akin to alkali basalts, may have Na 2 O + K 2 O contents of 12% or more. The abundances of
1625-488: A meeting in 1960 to choose an alternative name for the country, proposing names such as "Matshobana" and " Monomotapa " before his suggestion, "Zimbabwe", prevailed. It was initially unclear how the chosen term was to be used—a letter written by Mawema in 1961 refers to "Zimbabweland" — but "Zimbabwe" was sufficiently established by 1962 to become the generally preferred term of the black nationalist movement. Like those of many African countries that gained independence during
1750-423: A military system with regimental kraals , similar to those of Shaka, which was stable enough to repel further Boer incursions. Mzilikazi died in 1868; following a violent power struggle, his son Lobengula succeeded him. In the 1880s, European colonists arrived with Cecil Rhodes 's British South Africa Company (chartered in 1889). In 1888, Rhodes obtained a concession for mining rights from King Lobengula of
1875-535: A non-Shona head of state. Archaeological records date archaic human settlement of present-day Zimbabwe to at least 500,000 years ago. Zimbabwe's earliest known inhabitants were most likely the San people , who left behind a legacy of arrowheads and cave paintings. Approximately 2,000 years ago, the first Bantu-speaking farmers arrived during the Bantu expansion. Societies speaking proto- Shona languages first emerged in
2000-507: A phenocryst, and when present, may have rims of pigeonite. The groundmass contains interstitial quartz or tridymite or cristobalite . Olivine tholeiitic basalt has augite and orthopyroxene or pigeonite with abundant olivine, but olivine may have rims of pyroxene and is unlikely to be present in the groundmass . Alkali basalts typically have mineral assemblages that lack orthopyroxene but contain olivine. Feldspar phenocrysts typically are labradorite to andesine in composition. Augite
2125-434: A recommendation. In August 2023, President Emmerson Mnangagwa won a second term in an outcome of the election rejected by the opposition and questioned by observers. In September 2023, Zimbabwe signed control over almost 20% of the country's land to the carbon offset company Blue Carbon . Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in southern Africa, lying between latitudes 15° and 23°S , and longitudes 25° and 34°E . It
2250-523: A significant constituent. Accessory minerals present in relatively minor amounts include iron oxides and iron-titanium oxides, such as magnetite , ulvöspinel , and ilmenite . Because of the presence of such oxide minerals, basalt can acquire strong magnetic signatures as it cools, and paleomagnetic studies have made extensive use of basalt. In tholeiitic basalt , pyroxene ( augite and orthopyroxene or pigeonite ) and calcium -rich plagioclase are common phenocryst minerals. Olivine may also be
2375-475: A similar fate. Unlike that of his father, Xanda's killing was not termed illegal, though it did provoke outrage. The park is close to the edge of the Kalahari desert, a region with little water and very sparse, xerophile vegetation. The Kalahari woodland is dominated by Zambezi Teak , Sand Camwood ( Baphia ) and Kalahari bauhinia . Seasonal wetlands form grasslands in this area. The north and north-west of
2500-563: A tributary of the Nata River . There are no rivers in the rest of the park, although there are fossil drainage channels in the main camp and Linkwasha areas, which form seasonal wetlands. In these areas without rivers, grassy pan depressions and pans have formed. Some of these pans, such as many of the pans in the Shumba area, fill with rainwater, while others, such as Ngweshla, Shakwanki and Nehimba, are fed by natural groundwater seeps. Many of
2625-468: A year, and had done so for quite a long time. If this rate of growth had been maintained for the next 37 years, Zimbabwe would have in 2016 a GDP of US$ 52 billion. Instead it had a formal sector GDP of only US$ 14 billion, a cost of US$ 38 billion in lost growth. The population growth in 1980 was among the highest in Africa at about 3.5 per cent per annum, doubling every 21 years. Had this growth been maintained,
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#17327800929602750-427: Is 2.9 g/cm , compared, for example, to granite ’s typical density of 2.7 g/cm . The viscosity of basaltic magma is relatively low—around 10 to 10 cP —similar to the viscosity of ketchup , but that is still several orders of magnitude higher than the viscosity of water, which is about 1 cP). Basalt is often porphyritic , containing larger crystals ( phenocrysts ) that formed before the extrusion event that brought
2875-598: Is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa , between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers , bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the north, and Mozambique to the east. The capital and largest city is Harare , and the second largest is Bulawayo . A country of roughly 16.6 million people as per 2024 census, Zimbabwe's largest ethnic group are the Shona , who make up 80% of
3000-465: Is a republic with a presidential system of government. The semi-presidential system was abolished with the adoption of a new constitution after a referendum in 2013 . Under the constitutional changes in 2005, an upper chamber , the Senate , was reinstated. The House of Assembly is the lower chamber of Parliament. In 1987 Mugabe revised the constitution, abolishing the ceremonial presidency and
3125-401: Is also produced by some subglacial volcanic eruptions. Basalt is the most common volcanic rock type on Earth, making up over 90% of all volcanic rock on the planet. The crustal portions of oceanic tectonic plates are composed predominantly of basalt, produced from upwelling mantle below the ocean ridges . Basalt is also the principal volcanic rock in many oceanic islands , including
3250-442: Is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the west and southwest, Zambia to the northwest, and Mozambique to the east and northeast. Its northwest corner is roughly 150 meters from Namibia , nearly forming a four-nation quadripoint . Most of the country is elevated, consisting of a central plateau (high veld) stretching from the southwest northwards with altitudes between 1,000 and 1,600 m. The country's extreme east
3375-761: Is considered a key to understanding plate tectonics , its compositions have been much studied. Although MORB compositions are distinctive relative to average compositions of basalts erupted in other environments, they are not uniform. For instance, compositions change with position along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge , and the compositions also define different ranges in different ocean basins. Mid-ocean ridge basalts have been subdivided into varieties such as normal (NMORB) and those slightly more enriched in incompatible elements (EMORB). Isotope ratios of elements such as strontium , neodymium , lead , hafnium , and osmium in basalts have been much studied to learn about
3500-481: Is defined as volcanic rock with a content of between 45% and 52% silica and no more than 5% alkali metal oxides. This places basalt in the B field of the TAS diagram. Such a composition is described as mafic . Basalt is usually dark grey to black in colour, due to a high content of augite or other dark-coloured pyroxene minerals, but can exhibit a wide range of shading. Some basalts are quite light-coloured due to
3625-471: Is mountainous, this area being known as the Eastern Highlands , with Mount Nyangani as the highest point at 2,592 m. The highlands are known for their natural environment, with tourist destinations such as Nyanga , Troutbeck, Chimanimani , Vumba and Chirinda Forest at Mount Selinda . About 20% of the country consists of low-lying areas, (the low veld) under 900m. Victoria Falls , one of
3750-583: Is rich in titanium compared to augite in tholeiitic basalt. Minerals such as alkali feldspar , leucite , nepheline , sodalite , phlogopite mica, and apatite may be present in the groundmass. Basalt has high liquidus and solidus temperatures—values at the Earth's surface are near or above 1200 °C (liquidus) and near or below 1000 °C (solidus); these values are higher than those of other common igneous rocks. The majority of tholeiitic basalts are formed at approximately 50–100 km depth within
3875-402: Is suppressed. Above this depth, submarine eruptions are often explosive, tending to produce pyroclastic rock rather than basalt flows. These eruptions, described as Surtseyan, are characterised by large quantities of steam and gas and the creation of large amounts of pumice . When basalt erupts underwater or flows into the sea, contact with the water quenches the surface and the lava forms
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4000-543: Is the only protected area where gemsbok and brown hyena occur in small numbers. Grazing herbivores are more common in the Main Camp Wild Area and Linkwasha Concession Area, with mixed feeders more common in the Robins and Sinamatella Wild Areas, which are more heavily wooded. Distribution fluctuates seasonally, with large herbivores concentrating in areas where intensive water pumping is maintained during
4125-440: Is too hot and fluid to build up sufficient pressure to form explosive lava eruptions but occasionally this will happen by trapping of the lava within the volcanic throat and buildup of volcanic gases . Hawaiʻi's Mauna Loa volcano erupted in this way in the 19th century, as did Mount Tarawera , New Zealand in its violent 1886 eruption. Maar volcanoes are typical of small basalt tuffs, formed by explosive eruption of basalt through
4250-455: Is ultimately derived from Late Latin basaltes , a misspelling of Latin basanites "very hard stone", which was imported from Ancient Greek βασανίτης ( basanites ), from βάσανος ( basanos , " touchstone "). The modern petrological term basalt , describing a particular composition of lava -derived rock, became standard because of its use by Georgius Agricola in 1546, in his work De Natura Fossilium . Agricola applied
4375-597: The American declaration of 1776, which Smith and others indeed claimed provided a suitable precedent to their own actions. The United Kingdom deemed the Rhodesian declaration an act of rebellion but did not re-establish control by force. The British government petitioned the United Nations for sanctions against Rhodesia pending unsuccessful talks with Smith's administration in 1966 and 1968. In December 1966,
4500-700: The Bantu people (who would become the ethnic Shona) built the city-state of Great Zimbabwe ; the city-state became one of the major African trade centres by the 11th century but was abandoned by the mid 15th century. From there, the Kingdom of Zimbabwe was established, followed by the Rozvi and Mutapa empires. The British South Africa Company of Cecil Rhodes demarcated the Rhodesia region in 1890 when they conquered Mashonaland and later in 1893 Matabeleland after
4625-539: The Clementine mission demonstrate that the lunar maria possess a continuum of titanium concentrations, and that the highest concentrations are the least abundant. Lunar basalts show exotic textures and mineralogy, particularly shock metamorphism , lack of the oxidation typical of terrestrial basalts, and a complete lack of hydration . Most of the Moon 's basalts erupted between about 3 and 3.5 billion years ago, but
4750-461: The Cold War , Zimbabwe is an ethnically neutral name. It is debatable to what extent Zimbabwe, being over 80% homogenously Shona and dominated by them in various ways, can be described as a nation state . The constitution acknowledges 16 languages, but only embraces two of them nationally, Shona and English. Shona is taught widely in schools, unlike Ndebele . Zimbabwe has additionally never had
4875-614: The Constitution of Zimbabwe Mugabe should be succeeded by Vice-president Phelekezela Mphoko , a supporter of Grace Mugabe , ZANU–PF chief whip Lovemore Matuke stated to the Reuters news agency that Mnangagwa would be appointed as president. On 30 July 2018 Zimbabwe held its general elections , which were won by the ZANU-PF party led by Mnangagwa. Nelson Chamisa who was leading the main opposition party MDC Alliance contested
5000-653: The First Matabele War . Company rule ended in 1923 with the establishment of Southern Rhodesia as a self-governing British colony . In 1965, the white minority government unilaterally declared independence as Rhodesia . The state endured international isolation and a 15-year guerrilla war with black nationalist forces; this culminated in a peace agreement that established de jure sovereignty as Zimbabwe in April 1980. Robert Mugabe became Prime Minister of Zimbabwe in 1980, when his ZANU–PF party won
5125-458: The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) concluded that due to the deterioration of government and the economy "the government encourages corruption to make up for its inability to fund its own institutions" with widespread and informal police roadblocks to issue fines to travellers being one manifestation of this. In July 2016 nationwide protests took place regarding the economic collapse in
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5250-504: The Kingdom of Zimbabwe eclipsed Mapungubwe. This Shona state further refined and expanded upon Mapungubwe's stone architecture. From c. 1450 to 1760, the Kingdom of Mutapa ruled much of the area of present-day Zimbabwe, plus parts of central Mozambique. It is known by many names including the Mutapa Empire, also known as Mwene Mutapa or Monomotapa as well as "Munhumutapa", and was renowned for its strategic trade routes with
5375-644: The Okavango Delta . African leopard , spotted hyena and cheetah are also present in the protected area. Elephants have been enormously successful in Hwange and the population has increased to far above that naturally supported by such an area. This population of elephants has put a lot of strain on the resources of the park. There has been a lot of debate on how to deal with this, with parks authorities implementing culling to reduce populations, especially during 1967 to 1986. The elephant population doubled in
5500-1228: The Paraná Traps in Brazil, the Siberian Traps in Russia , the Karoo flood basalt province in South Africa, and the Columbia River Plateau of Washington and Oregon . Basalt is also prevalent across extensive regions of the Eastern Galilee , Golan , and Bashan in Israel and Syria . Basalt also is common around volcanic arcs, specially those on thin crust . Ancient Precambrian basalts are usually only found in fold and thrust belts, and are often heavily metamorphosed. These are known as greenstone belts , because low-grade metamorphism of basalt produces chlorite , actinolite , epidote and other green minerals. As well as forming large parts of
5625-508: The general election following the end of white minority rule and has remained the country's dominant party since. He was the President of Zimbabwe from 1987, after converting the country's initial parliamentary system into a presidential one , until his resignation in 2017. Under Mugabe's authoritarian regime, the state security apparatus dominated the country and was responsible for widespread human rights violations. From 1997 to 2008
5750-524: The hypabyssal and plutonic equivalents of basalt. During the Hadean , Archean , and early Proterozoic eons of Earth's history, the chemistry of erupted magmas was significantly different from what it is today, due to immature crustal and asthenosphere differentiation. The resulting ultramafic volcanic rocks, with silica (SiO 2 ) contents below 45% and high magnesium oxide (MgO) content, are usually classified as komatiites . The word "basalt"
5875-524: The lanthanide or rare-earth elements (REE) can be a useful diagnostic tool to help explain the history of mineral crystallisation as the melt cooled. In particular, the relative abundance of europium compared to the other REE is often markedly higher or lower, and called the europium anomaly . It arises because Eu can substitute for Ca in plagioclase feldspar, unlike any of the other lanthanides, which tend to only form cations . Mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) and their intrusive equivalents, gabbros, are
6000-461: The surface of a rocky planet or moon . More than 90% of all volcanic rock on Earth is basalt. Rapid-cooling, fine-grained basalt is chemically equivalent to slow-cooling, coarse-grained gabbro . The eruption of basalt lava is observed by geologists at about 20 volcanoes per year. Basalt is also an important rock type on other planetary bodies in the Solar System . For example, the bulk of
6125-715: The "humanitarian situation has improved in Zimbabwe since 2009, but conditions remain precarious for many people". A new constitution approved in the Zimbabwean constitutional referendum, 2013 curtails presidential powers. Mugabe was re-elected president in the July 2013 Zimbabwean general election which The Economist described as "rigged" and the Daily Telegraph as "stolen". The Movement for Democratic Change alleged massive fraud and tried to seek relief through
6250-476: The 120 constituencies. Moyo participated in the elections despite the allegations and won a seat as an independent member of Parliament. Basalt Basalt ( UK : / ˈ b æ s ɔː l t , - əl t / ; US : / b ə ˈ s ɔː l t , ˈ b eɪ s ɔː l t / ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low- viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron ( mafic lava) exposed at or very near
6375-571: The Arabs and Portugal. The Portuguese sought to monopolise this influence and began a series of wars which left the empire in near collapse in the early 17th century. As a direct response to increased European presence in the interior a new Shona state emerged, known as the Rozwi Empire . Relying on centuries of military, political and religious development, the Rozwi (meaning "destroyers") expelled
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#17327800929606500-648: The Botswana border. In the north-central area, from Sinamatella going eastwards, there are granites and gneisses of the Kamativi-Dete Inlier and smaller inliers of these rocks are found within the basalts in the north-west. The north and north-west of the park are drained by the Deka and Lukosi rivers and their tributaries, and the far south of the park is drained by the Gwabadzabuya River,
6625-499: The British government invited Muzorewa, Mugabe, and Nkomo to participate in a constitutional conference at Lancaster House . The purpose of the conference was to discuss and reach an agreement on the terms of an independence constitution, and provide for elections supervised under British authority allowing Zimbabwe Rhodesia to proceed to legal independence. With Lord Carrington, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of
6750-463: The Earth's crust, basalt also occurs in other parts of the Solar System. Basalt commonly erupts on Io (the third largest moon of Jupiter ), and has also formed on the Moon , Mars , Venus , and the asteroid Vesta . The dark areas visible on Earth's moon , the lunar maria , are plains of flood basaltic lava flows. These rocks were sampled both by the crewed American Apollo program and
6875-545: The Eastern Highlands. The country is mostly savanna , although the moist and mountainous Eastern Highlands support areas of tropical evergreen and hardwood forests. Trees found in the Eastern Highlands include teak , mahogany , enormous specimens of strangler fig , forest Newtonia , big leaf, white stinkwood , chirinda stinkwood, knobthorn and many others. In the low-lying parts of the country fever trees , mopane , combretum and baobabs abound. Much of
7000-630: The Ndebele peoples. He presented this concession to persuade the government of the United Kingdom to grant a royal charter to the company over Matabeleland, and its subject states such as Mashonaland as well. Rhodes used this document in 1890 to justify sending the Pioneer Column , a group of Europeans protected by well-armed British South Africa Police (BSAP) through Matabeleland and into Shona territory to establish Fort Salisbury (present-day Harare ), and thereby establish company rule over
7125-804: The Portuguese from the Zimbabwean plateau in 1683. Around 1821 the Zulu general Mzilikazi of the Khumalo clan successfully rebelled against King Shaka and established his own clan, the Ndebele . The Ndebele fought their way northwards into the Transvaal , leaving a trail of destruction in their wake and beginning an era of widespread devastation known as the Mfecane . When Dutch trekboers converged on
7250-483: The Rhodes administration subdued the Ndebele and Shona groups and organised the land with a disproportionate bias favouring Europeans, thus displacing many indigenous peoples. The United Kingdom annexed Southern Rhodesia on 12 September 1923. Shortly after annexation, on 1 October 1923, the first constitution for the new Colony of Southern Rhodesia came into force. Under the new constitution, Southern Rhodesia became
7375-657: The Transvaal in 1836, they drove the tribe even further northward, with the assistance of Tswana Barolong warriors and Griqua commandos. By 1838 the Ndebele had conquered the Rozwi Empire, along with the other smaller Shona states, and reduced them to vassaldom . After losing their remaining South African lands in 1840, Mzilikazi and his tribe permanently settled in the southwest of present-day Zimbabwe in what became known as Matabeleland, establishing Bulawayo as their capital. Mzilikazi then organised his society into
7500-703: The UANC head, became prime minister and the country's name was changed to Zimbabwe Rhodesia. The Internal Settlement left control of the Rhodesian Security Forces , civil service, judiciary, and a third of parliament seats to whites. On 12 June, the United States Senate voted to lift economic pressure on the former Rhodesia. Following the fifth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting , held in Lusaka , Zambia, from 1 to 7 August in 1979,
7625-560: The United Kingdom, in the chair, these discussions were mounted from 10 September to 15 December in 1979, producing a total of 47 plenary sessions . On 21 December 1979, delegations from every major interest represented reached the Lancaster House Agreement , effectively ending the guerrilla war. On 11 December 1979, the Rhodesian House of Assembly voted 90 to nil to revert to British colonial status. With
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#17327800929607750-556: The United States enacted the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA). It came into effect in 2002 and froze credit to the Zimbabwean government. By 2003, the country's economy had collapsed. It is estimated that up to a quarter of Zimbabwe's 11 million people had fled the country. Three-quarters of the remaining Zimbabweans were living on less than one U.S. dollar a day. Following elections in 2005 ,
7875-467: The ZANU–PF party, which claimed 117 of the 120 contested seats. During the 1990s, students, trade unionists, and other workers often demonstrated to express their growing discontent with Mugabe and ZANU–PF party policies. In 1996, civil servants, nurses, and junior doctors went on strike over salary issues. The general health of the population also began to significantly decline; by 1997 an estimated 25% of
8000-472: The amount of wildlife. Woodland degradation and deforestation caused by population growth , urban expansion and use for fuel are major concerns and have led to erosion which diminishes the amount of fertile soil. Local farmers have been criticised by environmentalists for burning off vegetation to heat their tobacco barns. The country had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 6.31/10, ranking it 81st globally out of 172 countries. Zimbabwe
8125-514: The area. In 1893 and 1894, with the help of their new Maxim guns, the BSAP would go on to defeat the Ndebele in the First Matabele War . Rhodes additionally sought permission to negotiate similar concessions covering all territory between the Limpopo River and Lake Tanganyika , then known as "Zambesia". In accordance with the terms of aforementioned concessions and treaties, mass settlement
8250-603: The areas of living standards, public health (with a major cholera outbreak in December) and various basic affairs. During this period, NGOs took over from government as a primary provider of food during this period of food insecurity in Zimbabwe. A 2011 survey by Freedom House suggested that living conditions had improved since the power-sharing agreement. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated in its 2012–2013 planning document that
8375-528: The arrival of Christopher Soames , the new governor on 12 December 1979, Britain formally took control of Zimbabwe Rhodesia as the Colony of Southern Rhodesia. Britain lifted sanctions on 12 December and the United Nations on 16 December. During the elections of February 1980 , Mugabe and the ZANU party secured a landslide victory. Prince Charles , as the representative of Britain, formally granted independence to
8500-480: The basalt/andesite field of the QAPF diagram. Basalt is further distinguished from andesite by its silica content of under 52%. It is often not practical to determine the mineral composition of volcanic rocks, due to their very small grain size, in which case geologists instead classify the rocks chemically, with particular emphasis on the total content of alkali metal oxides and silica ( TAS ); in that context, basalt
8625-746: The central plateau receive frost in winter. The Zambezi valley is known for its extreme heat, and the Eastern Highlands usually experience cool temperatures and the highest rainfall in the country. The country's rainy season generally runs from late October to March, and the hot climate is moderated by increasing altitude. Zimbabwe is faced with recurring droughts. In 2019, at least 55 elephants died because of drought. Severe storms are rare. Zimbabwe contains seven terrestrial ecoregions: Kalahari acacia–baikiaea woodlands , Southern Africa bushveld , Southern miombo woodlands , Zambezian Baikiaea woodlands , Zambezian and mopane woodlands , Zambezian halophytics , and Eastern Zimbabwe montane forest-grassland mosaic in
8750-478: The characteristic igneous rocks formed at mid-ocean ridges. They are tholeiitic basalts particularly low in total alkalis and in incompatible trace elements, and they have relatively flat REE patterns normalized to mantle or chondrite values. In contrast, alkali basalts have normalized patterns highly enriched in the light REE, and with greater abundances of the REE and of other incompatible elements. Because MORB basalt
8875-518: The country is covered by miombo woodland, dominated by brachystegia species and others. Among the numerous flowers and shrubs are hibiscus , flame lily , snake lily , spider lily , leonotis , cassia , tree wisteria and dombeya . There are around 350 species of mammals that can be found in Zimbabwe. There are also many snakes and lizards, over 500 bird species, and 131 fish species. Large parts of Zimbabwe were once covered by forests with abundant wildlife. Deforestation and poaching has reduced
9000-624: The country's leading export-producing sector. Some 58,000 independent black farmers have since experienced limited success in reviving the gutted cash crop sectors through efforts on a smaller scale. President Mugabe and the ZANU–PF party leadership found themselves beset by a wide range of international sanctions. In 2002, the nation was suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations due to the reckless farm seizures and blatant election tampering . The following year, Zimbabwean officials voluntarily terminated its Commonwealth membership. In 2001,
9125-570: The country, setting aside large areas solely for the purchase of the white minority. This act, which led to rapidly rising inequality, became the subject of frequent calls for subsequent land reform. In 1953, in the face of African opposition, Britain consolidated the two Rhodesias with Nyasaland (Malawi) in the ill-fated Central African Federation , which Southern Rhodesia essentially dominated. Growing African nationalism and general dissent, particularly in Nyasaland, persuaded Britain to dissolve
9250-475: The country. In November 2017, the army led a coup d'état following the dismissal of Vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa , placing Mugabe under house arrest. The army denied that their actions constituted a coup . On 19 November 2017, ZANU–PF sacked Robert Mugabe as party leader and appointed former Vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa in his place. On 21 November 2017, Mugabe tendered his resignation prior to impeachment proceedings being completed. Although under
9375-559: The courts. In a surprising moment of candour at the ZANU–PF congress in December 2014, President Robert Mugabe accidentally let slip that the opposition had in fact won the contentious 2008 polls by an astounding 73%. After winning the election, the Mugabe ZANU–PF government re-instituted one party rule , doubled the civil service and, according to The Economist , embarked on "misrule and dazzling corruption". A 2017 study conducted by
9500-447: The crust, forming an apron of mixed basalt and wall rock breccia and a fan of basalt tuff further out from the volcano. Amygdaloidal structure is common in relict vesicles and beautifully crystallized species of zeolites , quartz or calcite are frequently found. During the cooling of a thick lava flow, contractional joints or fractures form. If a flow cools relatively rapidly, significant contraction forces build up. While
9625-538: The deaths of at least three million Zimbabweans in 37 years. According to World Food Programme, over two million people are facing starvation because of the recent droughts the country is going through. In 2018, President Mnangagwa announced that his government would seek to rejoin the Commonwealth , which is as of 2023 conducting a fact-finding mission prior to asking the Secretary-General to issue
9750-488: The dry season. The population of the Cape wild dogs to be found in Hwange is thought to be of one of the larger surviving groups in Africa today, along with that of Kruger National Park and Selous Game Reserve . Other major predators include the lion , whose distribution and hunting in Hwange is strongly related to the pans and waterholes. Since 2005, the protected area is considered a Lion Conservation Unit together with
9875-526: The economy experienced consistent decline (and in the latter years, hyperinflation ), though it has since seen rapid growth after the use of currencies other than the Zimbabwean dollar was permitted. In 2017, in the wake of over a year of protests against his government as well as Zimbabwe's rapidly declining economy, a coup d'état resulted in Mugabe's resignation. Emmerson Mnangagwa has since served as Zimbabwe's president. The name "Zimbabwe" stems from
10000-501: The election results claiming voter fraud, and subsequently filed a petition to the Constitution Court of Zimbabwe. The court confirmed Mnangagwa's victory, making him the newly elected president after Mugabe. In December 2017 the website Zimbabwe News, calculating the cost of the Mugabe era using various statistics, said that at the time of independence in 1980, the country was growing economically at about five per cent
10125-545: The evolution of the Earth's mantle . Isotopic ratios of noble gases , such as He / He, are also of great value: for instance, ratios for basalts range from 6 to 10 for mid-ocean ridge tholeiitic basalt (normalized to atmospheric values), but to 15–24 and more for ocean-island basalts thought to be derived from mantle plumes . Source rocks for the partial melts that produce basaltic magma probably include both peridotite and pyroxenite . The shape, structure and texture of
10250-421: The extent of the deaths, and 19 carcasses were identified in the first survey and a further 84 carcasses in the second survey. Three of the poachers were caught, arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced. All royal game and elephant poaching offences now have a mandatory 9-year sentence and the supply chain is also targeted. On or about 1 July 2015, Cecil, a lion who had lived on Hwange National Park for 13 years,
10375-511: The five years following the end of culling in 1986. National Parks Scientific Services co-ordinates two major conservation and research projects in the park: This overview is only one indication of the diversity of birds in the park and is not a complete list. Most of the park is underlain by Kalahari Sands. In the north-west there are basalt lava flows of the Batoka Formation , stretching from south of Bumbusi to
10500-410: The former to hold the office of prime minister. Due to ministerial differences between their respective political parties, the agreement was not fully implemented until 13 February 2009. By December 2010, Mugabe was threatening to completely expropriate remaining privately owned companies in Zimbabwe unless "western sanctions" were lifted. In late 2008, problems in Zimbabwe reached crisis proportions in
10625-463: The government initiated " Operation Murambatsvina ", an effort to crack down on illegal markets and slums emerging in towns and cities, leaving a substantial section of urban poor homeless. The Zimbabwean government has described the operation as an attempt to provide decent housing to the population, although according to critics such as Amnesty International , authorities have yet to properly substantiate their claims. On 29 March 2008, Zimbabwe held
10750-403: The government pressed ahead with its Fast Track Land Reform programme, a policy involving compulsory land acquisition aimed at redistributing land from the minority white population to the majority black population. Confiscations of white farmland, continuous droughts, and a serious drop in external finance and other support led to a sharp decline in agricultural exports, which were traditionally
10875-740: The islands of Hawaiʻi , the Faroe Islands , and Réunion . The eruption of basalt lava is observed by geologists at about 20 volcanoes per year. Basalt is the rock most typical of large igneous provinces . These include continental flood basalts , the most voluminous basalts found on land. Examples of continental flood basalts included the Deccan Traps in India , the Chilcotin Group in British Columbia , Canada ,
11000-604: The magma as it decompresses during its approach to the surface; the erupted lava then solidifies before the gases can escape. When vesicles make up a substantial fraction of the volume of the rock, the rock is described as scoria . The term basalt is at times applied to shallow intrusive rocks with a composition typical of basalt, but rocks of this composition with a phaneritic (coarser) groundmass are more properly referred to either as diabase (also called dolerite) or—when they are more coarse-grained (having crystals over 2 mm across)—as gabbro . Diabase and gabbro are thus
11125-416: The magma to the surface, embedded in a finer-grained matrix . These phenocrysts are usually made of augite, olivine , or a calcium-rich plagioclase, which have the highest melting temperatures of any of the minerals that can typically crystallize from the melt, and which are therefore the first to form solid crystals. Basalt often contains vesicles ; they are formed when dissolved gases bubble out of
11250-710: The mantle. Many alkali basalts may be formed at greater depths, perhaps as deep as 150–200 km. The origin of high-alumina basalt continues to be controversial, with disagreement over whether it is a primary melt or derived from other basalt types by fractionation. Relative to most common igneous rocks, basalt compositions are rich in MgO and CaO and low in SiO 2 and the alkali oxides, i.e., Na 2 O + K 2 O , consistent with their TAS classification . Basalt contains more silica than picrobasalt and most basanites and tephrites but less than basaltic andesite . Basalt has
11375-544: The middle Limpopo River valley in the 9th century before moving on to the Zimbabwean highlands. The Zimbabwean plateau became the centre of subsequent Shona states, beginning around the 10th century. Around the early 10th century, trade developed with Arab merchants on the Indian Ocean coast, helping to develop the Kingdom of Mapungubwe in the 11th century. This was the precursor to the Shona civilisations that dominated
11500-614: The militant communists. In March 1978, Smith reached an accord with three African leaders, led by Bishop Abel Muzorewa , who offered to leave the white population comfortably entrenched in exchange for the establishment of a biracial democracy. As a result of the Internal Settlement , elections were held in April 1979 , concluding with the United African National Council (UANC) carrying a majority of parliamentary seats. On 1 June 1979, Muzorewa,
11625-499: The modern-day Masvingo province. Archaeologist Peter Garlake claims that "Zimbabwe" represents a contracted form of dzimba-hwe , which means "venerated houses" in the Zezuru dialect of Shona and usually references chiefs' houses or graves. Zimbabwe was formerly known as Southern Rhodesia (1898), Rhodesia (1965), and Zimbabwe Rhodesia (1979). The first recorded use of "Zimbabwe" as a term of national reference dates from 1960 as
11750-406: The most voluminous of all volcanic formations. Basaltic magmas within Earth are thought to originate from the upper mantle . The chemistry of basalts thus provides clues to processes deep in Earth's interior . Basalt is composed mostly of oxides of silicon, iron, magnesium, potassium, aluminum, titanium, and calcium. Geologists classify igneous rock by its mineral content whenever possible;
11875-794: The new nation of Zimbabwe at a ceremony in Harare in April 1980. Zimbabwe's first president after its independence was Canaan Banana in what was originally a mainly ceremonial role as head of state . Mugabe was the country's first prime minister and head of government. In 1980, Samora Machel told Mugabe that Zimbabwe was the "Jewel of Africa" but added: "Don't tarnish it!". New names for 32 places were gazetted on 18 April 1982 and by February 1984, there had been 42 changes, which included three rivers (Umniati/ Munyati ; Lundi/ Runde ; Nuanetsi/ Mwenezi ), and several changes from colonial names (such as Salisbury/Harare; Enkeldoorn/ Chivhu ; Essexvale/ Esigodini ; Fort Victoria/ Masvingo ) Opposition to what
12000-574: The number of deaths during the five-year Gukurahundi campaign ranged from 3,750 to 80,000. Thousands of others were tortured in military internment camps. The campaign officially ended in 1987 after Nkomo and Mugabe reached a unity agreement that merged their respective parties, creating the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front ( ZANU–PF ). Elections in March 1990 resulted in another victory for Mugabe and
12125-410: The oldest samples are 4.2 billion years old, and the youngest flows, based on the age dating method of crater counting , are estimated to have erupted only 1.2 billion years ago. From 1972 to 1985, five Venera and two VEGA landers successfully reached the surface of Venus and carried out geochemical measurements using X-ray fluorescence and gamma-ray analysis. These returned results consistent with
12250-448: The organisation complied, imposing the first mandatory trade embargo on an autonomous state. These sanctions were expanded again in 1968. A civil war ensued when Joshua Nkomo 's Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) and Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), supported actively by communist powers and neighbouring African nations, initiated guerrilla operations against Rhodesia's predominantly white government. ZAPU
12375-475: The pans are additionally supplied by water pumped from underground by park authorities. People have lived in the region for tens of thousands of years, as attested by numerous archaeological sites ranging from early Stone Age to the historic era. Stone age foragers hunted and gathered in the region, leaving numerous sites with stone tools throughout today's park. They made engravings of animal hoofprints on sandstone rockshelter walls with some small rock paintings in
12500-463: The park are dominated by mopane woodland. Although it has been argued that elephant populations cause change in vegetation structure, some recent studies suggest that this is not the case, even with the large increases in elephant population recorded in the late 1980s. The Park hosts over 100 mammal and 400 bird species, including 19 large herbivores and eight large carnivores. All Zimbabwe's specially protected animals are to be found in Hwange and it
12625-549: The park's northwest. Iron-age people built large and small stone-walling sites in the park, such Mtoa and the Bumbusi National Monument . Information about the people who once lived in today's park is available online. [2] Zimbabwe Zimbabwe ( / z ɪ m ˈ b ɑː b w eɪ , - w i / ; Shona pronunciation: [zi.ᵐba.ɓwe] ), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe ,
12750-523: The plains of Venus , which cover ~80% of the surface, are basaltic; the lunar maria are plains of flood-basaltic lava flows ; and basalt is a common rock on the surface of Mars . Molten basalt lava has a low viscosity due to its relatively low silica content (between 45% and 52%), resulting in rapidly moving lava flows that can spread over great areas before cooling and solidifying. Flood basalts are thick sequences of many such flows that can cover hundreds of thousands of square kilometres and constitute
12875-424: The population had been infected by HIV in a pandemic that was affecting most of southern Africa. Land redistribution re-emerged as the main issue for the ZANU–PF government around 1997. Despite the existence of a "willing-buyer-willing-seller" land reform programme since the 1980s, the minority white Zimbabwean population of around 0.6% continued to hold 70% of the country's most fertile agricultural land. In 2000,
13000-406: The population would have been 31 million. Instead, as of 2018, it is about 13 million. The discrepancies were believed to be partly caused by death from starvation and disease, and partly due to decreased fertility. The life expectancy has halved, and deaths from politically motivated violence sponsored by the government exceed 200,000 since 1980. The Mugabe government has directly or indirectly caused
13125-753: The population, followed by the Northern Ndebele and other smaller minorities . Zimbabwe has 16 official languages , with English, Shona , and Ndebele the most common. Zimbabwe is a member of the United Nations , the Southern African Development Community , the African Union , and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa . Beginning in the 9th century, during its late Iron Age ,
13250-450: The prime ministerial posts to form an executive president—a presidential system. His ZANU-PF party has won every election since independence—in the 1990 election the second-placed party, Edgar Tekere 's Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM), obtained 20% of the vote. During the 1995 parliamentary elections, most opposition parties, including the ZUM, boycotted the voting, resulting in a near sweep by
13375-475: The rate of cooling; very rapid cooling may result in very small (<1 cm diameter) columns, while slow cooling is more likely to produce large columns. The character of submarine basalt eruptions is largely determined by depth of water, since increased pressure restricts the release of volatile gases and results in effusive eruptions. It has been estimated that at depths greater than 500 metres (1,600 ft), explosive activity associated with basaltic magma
13500-440: The region during the 13th to 15th centuries, evidenced by ruins at Great Zimbabwe , near Masvingo , and by other smaller sites. The main archaeological site used a unique dry stone architecture. The Kingdom of Mapungubwe was the first in a series of trading states which had developed in Zimbabwe by the time the first European explorers arrived from Portugal. These states traded gold, ivory, and copper for cloth and glass. By 1220,
13625-411: The relative volume percentages of quartz (crystalline silica (SiO 2 )), alkali feldspar , plagioclase , and feldspathoid ( QAPF ) are particularly important. An aphanitic (fine-grained) igneous rock is classified as basalt when its QAPF fraction is composed of less than 10% feldspathoid and less than 20% quartz, and plagioclase makes up at least 65% of its feldspar content. This places basalt in
13750-595: The robotic Russian Luna program , and are represented among the lunar meteorites . Lunar basalts differ from their Earth counterparts principally in their high iron contents, which typically range from about 17 to 22 wt% FeO. They also possess a wide range of titanium concentrations (present in the mineral ilmenite ), ranging from less than 1 wt% TiO 2 , to about 13 wt.%. Traditionally, lunar basalts have been classified according to their titanium content, with classes being named high-Ti, low-Ti, and very-low-Ti. Nevertheless, global geochemical maps of titanium obtained from
13875-403: The rock at the landing sites being basalts, including both tholeiitic and highly alkaline basalts. The landers are thought to have landed on plains whose radar signature is that of basaltic lava flows. These constitute about 80% of the surface of Venus. Some locations show high reflectivity consistent with unweathered basalt, indicating basaltic volcanism within the last 2.5 million years. Basalt
14000-478: The ruling party. When the opposition returned to the polls in 2000, they won 57 seats, only five fewer than ZANU-PF. Presidential elections were again held in 2002 amid allegations of vote-rigging, intimidation and fraud. The 2005 Zimbabwe parliamentary elections were held on 31 March, and multiple claims of vote rigging, election fraud and intimidation were made by the Movement for Democratic Change party and Jonathan Moyo , calling for investigations into 32 of
14125-462: The sea it usually forms pillow basalts. However, when ʻaʻā enters the ocean it forms a littoral cone , a small cone-shaped accumulation of tuffaceous debris formed when the blocky ʻaʻā lava enters the water and explodes from built-up steam. The island of Surtsey in the Atlantic Ocean is a basalt volcano which breached the ocean surface in 1963. The initial phase of Surtsey's eruption
14250-670: The term "basalt" to the volcanic black rock beneath the Bishop of Meissen's Stolpen castle , believing it to be the same as the "basaniten" described by Pliny the Elder in AD ;77 in Naturalis Historiae . On Earth, most basalt is formed by decompression melting of the mantle . The high pressure in the upper mantle (due to the weight of the overlying rock ) raises the melting point of mantle rock, so that almost all of
14375-508: The union in 1963, forming three separate divisions. While multiracial democracy was finally introduced to Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Southern Rhodesians of European ancestry continued to enjoy minority rule . Following Zambian independence (effective from October 1964), Ian Smith 's Rhodesian Front government in Salisbury dropped the designation "Southern" in 1964 (once Northern Rhodesia had changed its name to Zambia , having
14500-580: The upper mantle is solid. However, mantle rock is ductile (the solid rock slowly deforms under high stress). When tectonic forces cause hot mantle rock to creep upwards, pressure on the ascending rock decreases, and this can lower its melting point enough for the rock to partially melt , producing basaltic magma. Decompression melting can occur in a variety of tectonic settings, including in continental rift zones, at mid-ocean ridges , above geological hotspots , and in back-arc basins . Basalt also forms in subduction zones , where mantle rock rises into
14625-422: The word Southern before the name Rhodesia became unnecessary and the country simply became known as Rhodesia afterwards). Intent on effectively repudiating the recently adopted British policy of " no independence before majority rule ", Smith issued a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965. This marked the first such course taken by a rebel British colony since
14750-449: The world's largest and most spectacular waterfalls, is located in the country's extreme northwest and is part of the Zambezi river. Over geological time Zimbabwe has experienced two major post- Gondwana erosion cycles (known as African and post-African), and a very subordinate Plio-Pleistocene cycle. Zimbabwe has a subtropical climate with many local variations. The southern areas are known for their heat and aridity, while parts of
14875-505: Was encouraged, with the British maintaining control over labour as well as over precious metals and other mineral resources. In 1895, the BSAC adopted the name "Rhodesia" for the territory, in honour of Rhodes. In 1898 "Southern Rhodesia" became the official name for the region south of the Zambezi, which later adopted the name "Zimbabwe". The region to the north, administered separately,
15000-575: Was founded in 1928. It is considered for inclusion in the five-nation Kavango - Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area . In 2011, nine elephants, five lions and two buffaloes were killed by poachers. In October 2013 it was discovered that poachers killed a large number of African elephants with cyanide after poisoning their waterhole. Conservationists have claimed the incident to be the largest illegal killing of animals in Southern Africa in 25 years. Two aerial surveys were carried to determine
15125-400: Was highly explosive, as the magma was quite fluid, causing the rock to be blown apart by the boiling steam to form a tuff and cinder cone. This has subsequently moved to a typical pāhoehoe-type behaviour. Volcanic glass may be present, particularly as rinds on rapidly chilled surfaces of lava flows, and is commonly (but not exclusively) associated with underwater eruptions. Pillow basalt
15250-565: Was killed. This action spurred widespread social media coverage and a petition calling for Zimbabwe 's president Robert Mugabe to outlaw big game hunting permits. Walter Palmer, the admitted killer of Cecil, had a permit and was not charged with any crime, as all his papers were in order. Authorities in Zimbabwe have said he is free to visit the country. Charges were initially laid against Theo Bronkhorst, Palmer's guide, for "failing to stop an illegal hunt" but these were later thrown out of court. Two years after Cecil's killing, his son Xanda met
15375-679: Was later termed Northern Rhodesia (present-day Zambia). Shortly after the disastrous Rhodes-sponsored Jameson Raid on the South African Republic , the Ndebele rebelled against white rule, led by their charismatic religious leader, Mlimo. The Second Matabele War of 1896–1897 lasted in Matabeleland until 1896, when Mlimo was assassinated by American scout Frederick Russell Burnham . Shona agitators staged unsuccessful revolts (known as Chimurenga ) against company rule during 1896 and 1897. Following these failed insurrections,
15500-424: Was perceived as a Shona takeover immediately erupted around Matabeleland. The Matabele unrest led to what has become known as Gukurahundi (Shona: 'the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains'). The Fifth Brigade , a North Korean-trained elite unit that reported directly to Mugabe, entered Matabeleland and massacred thousands of civilians accused of supporting "dissidents". Estimates for
15625-654: Was supported by the Soviet Union , the Warsaw Pact and associated nations such as Cuba, and adopted a Marxist–Leninist ideology; ZANU meanwhile aligned itself with Maoism and the bloc headed by the People's Republic of China. Smith declared Rhodesia a republic in 1970, following the results of a referendum the previous year , but this went unrecognised internationally. Meanwhile, Rhodesia's internal conflict intensified, eventually forcing him to open negotiations with
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