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34-576: The Mueda Plateau lies between the Ruvuma River on the north, which forms the border with Tanzania , and the Messalo River on the south. It is named for the town of Mueda , the principal town on the plateau. The highest portion of the plateau reaches above 1000 meters elevation. The western edge of the plateau forms a steep escarpment, dropping to rolling plains. The plateau has an area of 1715 square kilometers. The Macomia Plateau lies to

68-403: A closed canopy, and trees are often dry-season deciduous and/or sclerophyllous . Typical dry forest species include Manilkara sansibarensis , Pteleopsis myrtifolia , Warneckea sansibarica , and Baphia macrocalyx . Dry forests subjected to human disturbance from timber harvesting, livestock grazing, and shifting cultivation are often more thicket-like. It is estimated that 2,332 km of

102-552: A good 4-wheel drive. A smaller bridge called Unity Two was also completed in 2007 on the upper Rovuma close to Matchedge in Niassa Province . [REDACTED]   This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Chisholm, Hugh , ed. (1911). " Rovuma ". Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 782. Lujenda River The Lugenda or Lujenda (alternate: Msambiti River )

136-534: Is 998 km (620 mi) long, with a drainage basin of ~155,000 km (60,000 sq mi) in size. Its mean annual discharge is 475 m /s (16,800 cu ft/s) to 2,286 m /s (80,700 cu ft/s) at its mouth. Average and maximum discharge of the Rovuma River ( 11°9′53.9532″S 39°15′37.8072″E  /  11.164987000°S 39.260502000°E  / -11.164987000; 39.260502000 ): Average monthly discharge of

170-478: Is a popular sport in the river, apart from climbing of the inselbergs in the park area from the "bush fly camps" along the river. There is also a proposal to set up another ecotourism camp on the Lugenda River, about 200 kilometres (120 mi) away from Lichinga . Niassa Reserve , named after the province where it is situated, covers an area of 45,000 square kilometres (17,000 sq mi). It has

204-482: Is a river of northern Mozambique . It flows in a south-north direction from Lake Amaramba / Lake Chiuta and is the largest tributary of the Ruvuma River . It joins the Luambala River at 13°26′12″S 36°18′20″E  /  13.43667°S 36.30556°E  / -13.43667; 36.30556 . The river valley is reported to be only 800 feet (240 m) above sea level. North of Lake Chiuta, those on

238-487: Is bridged at Luambala where its width is about 150 metres (490 ft). The river valley formed by the Lugenda River, which flows within deep banks, is rich in iron ore intercalated in quartz and granite rock formations. Crystallized lime carbonate is also found. Coal is extracted from two coal fields, located on both sides of the river, one close to the Pemba Bay and the other near Itule town. Iron ore

272-666: Is extracted from large areas to the west of the Pemba Coalfield. Gold is also found in the valley in upper reaches of the Rarico River , a tributary of the Lugenda River. The river valley, and the Niassa Wild Life Preserve enclosed within it, has a history linked to World War I . Germans , under the command of General Von Lettow-Vorbeck , crossed the Ruvuma River at Negomano and entered

306-439: Is fordable in many places in the dry season . At its mouth it is about 1 mile (1.6 km) wide. The lower Ruvuma, which is often 1 ⁄ 2 mile (0.8 km) wide but generally shallow, flows through a swampy valley flanked by plateau escarpments containing several small backwaters of the river. The mouth is near 10° 28′ S, 40° 30′ E , the boundary near the coast being formed by the parallel of 10° 40′ S . The length of

340-574: Is located at Negomano, 200 km (120 mi) inland and 100 km (62 mi) from the nearest surfaced road in Mozambique. The site was agreed between Presidents Machel and Nyerere because this was the site of the first entry into Mozambique by Frelimo forces in the Mozambican War of Independence on 25 September 1964. Negomano was also the location where the German forces crossed

374-688: Is part of the Wildlife Preserve, is on the eastern bank of the Lugenda river, amongst the Ngalongue Mountains ( inselbergs ); inselberg is a common international term used to define isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain . The camp is an integral component of the African wildlife ecosystem. Safaris are arranged from this camp for visits to

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408-407: Is the central mountain in the valley. The mountain is rich in vegetation and is considered an important botanical area of the preserve in the valley. The Lugenda River and Mecula Mountain are thus the important tourist destinations in Mozambique's northern province. The river has a complex flow pattern. It flows in the westerly direction through "Pandanus palm-braided channels". On the east, its flow

442-460: Is through rocky gorge with the entire river vanishing into "slot canyons" displaying broad sandy waterways. This is the location of the breeding colonies of globally threatened African skimmers . The headwaters of the Lugenda River are in Lakes Chilwa and Chiuta on the border between Mozambique and Malawi , from where the river flows northeast along inferred depressions ultimately joining

476-605: The Portuguese held Mozambique in search of food for his troops. In December 1917, after crossing the river, the general with his army marched south along the Lugenda River and arrived at Metarica . One of the battalions dispatched towards the Mecula Mountain in search of food had to fight a fierce battle with the Portuguese. Witnesses to this battle are seen in the form of a few graves on the hill slopes at Mecula,

510-490: The swamps to the south of this being separated from Chilwa only by a narrow wooded ridge. The stream which issues from Chiuta passes by a swampy valley into the narrow Lake Amaramba, from which the Lujenda River finally issues as a stream 80 yards (73 m) wide. Lower down it varies greatly in breadth, containing in many parts long wooded islands which rise above the flood level, and are often inhabited. The river

544-528: The African wilderness. The camp has 16 east-African styled tents, a well turned out accommodation for visitors. Pemba Airport is the nearest airport to the Wilderness Camp and air services are operated by CFA Air Charters with light aircraft. At the eastern edge of the river, the camp has dirt roads, fairly well maintained for the purpose of safari tours to facilitate wild life tracking. Canoeing

578-469: The Lake Amaramba, as a lake due to its large expanse of water. The river valley has fertile alluvial soil with good water resources as it is fed by many perennial streams on both banks. The perennial water sources in the valley thus have good cultivation to sustain its inhabitants. Tobacco is grown on the river banks. Wild fig and other species of trees are also found in the valley. The river

612-460: The Makonde. The name 'Makonde' is derived from the typical woodland thickets of the plateau. The soil is light and sandy but fertile, and the Makonde people on the plateau traditionally practiced a form of swidden agriculture with a three-crop rotation. Trees were cut down to stumps, which provide support for vine crops (beans, pumpkins, and cucumbers) followed by a maize crop, and then millet. At

646-627: The October-to-April wet season. The Mueda Plateau is in the Southern Zanzibar-Inhambane coastal forest mosaic ecoregion. The natural vegetation is a mosaic of plant communities, including miombo woodland , dry deciduous and semi-deciduous forest, dry deciduous thicket, and grassland. Miombo woodland is characterized by species of Brachystegia and Julbernardia which form open-canopied woodlands and savannas. Dry deciduous and semi-deciduous forests generally have

680-486: The Rovuma River ( 11°9′53.9532″S 39°15′37.8072″E  /  11.164987000°S 39.260502000°E  / -11.164987000; 39.260502000 ), UNH-GRDC historical period (1957–1999): (m /s) The largest tributaries of the Rovuma River: tributary tributary (km) (km ) (m /s) The lower Ruvuma river is formed by the junction at 11° 25′ S, 38° 31′ E of two branches of nearly equal importance,

714-515: The Rovuma river on 25 November 1917. First foundation stones were laid on the Tanzanian and Mozambique sides on October 10, 2005. Construction was completed early 2010 and cost US$ 28 million. It used to be possible to cross the river with rafts (located at the Tanzanian side) that could carry 3 jeeps. The ferry sank in 2008 and has not been replaced. At low water the river is sometimes fordable with

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748-583: The Ruvuma River at Negomano village. Its origin is marked by a narrow wooded ridge (a sand bar ridge which is 25 metres (82 ft) high and 9,000 years old) ) that separates the swamps on the southern side of Chuta Lake from the Lake Chilwa. The stream at the outlet of the Lake Amaramba is about 80 metres (260 ft) wide. It is a swampy water body between its origin from the Chitwa Lake and Lake Amaramba. Mount Mecula (1,441 metres (4,728 ft))

782-495: The Ruvuma River, on the Mozambique / Tanzania border, flowing to the Indian Ocean . The flow contribution from the Lugenda River to the Ruvuma River is estimated to be 18 cubic kilometres (4.3 cu mi). Most of the basin area of the river lies in the Niassa Province where the irrigation potential is reported to be 200,000 hectares (490,000 acres). It is a slow-moving river and often appears, as it emerges from

816-477: The Ruvuma is about 500 miles (800 km). A bridge called Unity Bridge across the river between Mozambique and Tanzania was proposed as early as 1975, and although construction was started, the project was abandoned due to lack of funds. In 2002 the two national governments made a formal agreement to build a new 600 metre bridge across the river, and this was finally opened in a ceremony on 25 May 2010. The bridge

850-543: The district capital of Niassa. Lugenda River Valley, formed by the river, is part of the rich ecological corridor comprising the Messalo and Rurumana Lugenda, Messalo and Rumana rivers, which form the Niassa National Reserve and Lurio conservation area . This route is being developed for game and ecotourism envisaging fishing, wildlife viewing, boat rides and so forth. Lugenda Wilderness Camp, which

884-544: The end of the growing season, the tree stumps were allowed to re-grow for a six- to nine-year fallow period. Ruvuma River (Period: 1971–2000)2,286.3 m /s (80,740 cu ft/s) Ruvuma River , formerly also known as the Rovuma River , is a river in the African Great Lakes region. During the greater part of its course, it forms the border between Tanzania and Mozambique . The river

918-418: The endemic Johnston's impala , Niassa wildebeest and Boehm's zebra . The reserve also has wild dogs and 800 to 1000 lions. It has 400 species of birds, out of which four species are globally threatened. Taita falcon , southern banded snake-eagle , African skimmer and Starling's woodpecker are the bird species found, apart from the rare African pitta . Forty species of fish have been recorded in

952-503: The longer of which, the Lujenda , comes from the south-west, the other, which still bears the name Ruvuma, from the west. Its source lies on an undulating plateau, 1,000 m (3,300 ft) high, immediately to the east of Lake Nyasa , at 10° 45′ S, 35° 40′ E , the head-stream flowing first due west before turning south and east. In its eastward course, the Ruvuma flows near the base of the escarpment of an arid sandstone plateau to

986-518: The north, from which direction the streams, which have cut themselves deep channels in the plateau edge, have almost all short courses. On the opposite bank the Ruvuma receives, besides the Lujenda, the Msinje River and Luchulingo River , flowing in broad valleys running from south to north. The Lujenda rises in proximity to Lake Chilwa , in the small Lake Chiuta (520 m, 1,700 ft),

1020-475: The plateau was densely vegetated with woodland or forest 150 to 100 years ago. A survey of forest cover from 2002 satellite data found that only 89 km of the plateau is still densely vegetated, a 96.2% reduction over more than a century. The Makonde people inhabit the plateau and the adjacent lowlands. The Makonde Plateau , which lies immediately north of the Ruvuma River in Tanzania, is also inhabited by

1054-645: The river, which sustains a substantial fishing industry providing economic sustenance to the local people. It has a rich population of hippos . Crocodiles are reported in deep pools in the river. Canoe safari is reported to be a success. A new species known as girdle lizard has been recorded. The mountainous forests of the preserve harbour a large number of silver hornbills , buffalo and herds of wild elephants . Black heron , black rough-winged swallow , emerald-spotted dove , green-winged glossy starling , iladadah , little egret , Shelley's francolin , South African pochard , and spot-headed weaver also frequent

Mueda Plateau - Misplaced Pages Continue

1088-473: The south, across the Messalo River. The Makonde Plateau lies to the north, across the Ruvuma River in Tanzania. The plateau is composed of includes metamorphic and volcanic rocks. The soils of the plateau are classified as nitisols . Mueda, at an elevation of 847 meters, has an average annual rainfall of 1,093 mm, and a mean annual temperature of 21.9 °C. Most of the rainfall occurs during

1122-649: The west bank call it the Msambiti River. At one point, the Lugenda splits into several streams with islands between them, some of whom are populated such as the island Achemponda. Elephants loom large in the life of people of the Lugenda River Valley. The tribal people, inhabiting the river valley for several thousand years, are mainly the Yao and Makua tribals. Other groups residing here are Ngoni , Marave and Matambwe people. The etymology of

1156-464: The word Lugenda in Yao language , a Bantu language spoken by the Yao people (East Africa) in Africa }, has the literal meaning "a large river." The Lugenda River, which joins the main Ruvuma River system in its lower reaches from the south east, rises near Lake Chilwa, from the small Lake Chiuta (1,700 feet (520 m)). The river flows for a length of 300 kilometres (190 mi) before it joins

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