Mozambique
Introduction & Overview
The Republic of Mozambique stretches for 2 504 kilometres along the southeastern coast of Africa, facing the Indian Ocean and occupies 799 384 square kilometres.
The countries northern border is the Rovuma River, which separates Mozambique from Tanzania. The countries bordering Mozambique to the east are Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Swaziland.
Nearly half of all the land in Mozambique is low lying.and as many as sixty rivers crisscross the country as they head for the Indian Ocean. Amongst these rivers are the mighty Zambezi which effectively divides the country in half, forming a natural barrier to travel between southern and northern Mozambique.
Geography & Climate
The tropical climate has two seasons – dry and wet. The wet season is from October to March and the dry season lasts from April to November. More than 80% of the entire years rain falls during the wet season. Most areas receive between 120 – 200 cm of rainfall. The average annual rainfall is greatest over the western hills and the central areas, and lowest in the southwest. Drought is frequent, especially in the south. Temperatures range from 20 c in July to 29 c in January.
About half of the land is covered with forests, scrub and woodland. The wet regions support thick forests and the drier interior supports only a thin savanna vegetation. Mangroves and coconut palms are common along the coast.
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