The Misuku Hills are a mountain range in Malawi 's Northern Region .
7-633: The Misuku Hills lie near Malawi's northern border. They are bounded on the north by the Songwe River , which forms Malawi's northern border with Tanzania . Tanzania's Umalila Mountains lie north of the Songwe. On the east and south, the Misuku hills transition to a hilly plateau that slopes towards Lake Malawi . The valley of the Kaseye River , a northward-flowing tributary of the Songwe, bounds
14-792: The Silvered bat (Glauconycteris argentata) , Lord Derby's scaly-tailed squirrel (Anomalurus derbianus) , and the Tanzanian vlei rat (Otomys lacustris) is in the Misuku Hills. The Black and red bush squirrel (Paraxerus lucifer) is found in the Misuku Hills, along with the Nyika Plateau to the south, and Mount Rungwe and Poroto Mountains to the north in Tanzania. The Matipa (10.62 km), Mughese (6.73 km), and Wilindi (9.07 km) forest reserves were established in 1948 to protect
21-597: The Matipa-Wilindi ridge occupy 2,400 ha, ranging from 1,700–2,050 meters elevation. The Mughese forests occupy about 720 ha, ranging from 1,600–1,880 meters elevation. The forests yield to pockets of montane grassland along the ridgeline. The Afromontane rainforests of the Misuku hills are some of the most diverse and species-rich in Malawi, with 150 species of trees recorded. Their closeness to southwestern Tanzania's concentration of montane forests and grasslands, and
28-817: The borders of Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia meet. It flows southeast to empty into Lake Nyasa . The middle course separates Malawi's Misuku Hills from the Umalila Mountains in Songwe Region Tanzania. The lower course flows through the Kyela Plain , a fertile lowland lying northwest of Lake Malawi the valley of the East African Rift . The Kyela Plain is cultivated intensively with rice and other crops. 9°43′07″S 33°56′18″E / 9.7186°S 33.9383°E / -9.7186; 33.9383 This article related to
35-537: The hills on the west. The Chitipa Plain lies to the southwest. The tallest peaks are Matipa (2124 m) and Mughese (1909 m). The natural vegetation in the hills is mostly miombo woodland . The hills are fertile and well-watered and support a rural population, and much of the woodland has been converted to farms and gardens. Two enclaves of montane evergreen forest live on the hills' highest ridges. They occupy two parallel ridges which run northwest-southeast, separated by several kilometers of cultivated land. The forests in
42-510: The hills' favorable climate soils, help account for the diversity. Aningeria adolfi-friederici and Entandrophragma excelsum are predominant emergent trees. Strangler figs (Ficus spp.) are abundant. The montane forest trees Cylicomorpha parviflora and Mitragyna rubrostipulata reach the southern range of their distribution in the Misuku Hills. The montane forests support populations of Moloney's White-collared Monkey (Cercopithecus mitis moloneyi) . The only occurrence in Malawi of
49-444: The hills' largest enclaves of montane rainforest, along with areas of montane grassland and miombo woodland. 9°40′S 33°33′E / 9.667°S 33.550°E / -9.667; 33.550 Songwe River The Songwe River is a river that forms the international boundary between Malawi and Songwe Region , Tanzania . The songwe region in Tanzania is named after the river. The Songwe's headwaters are where
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