Tanzania

Tanzania

Tanzania is an East African nation that is immediately south of the equator. The two previously independent states of Tanganyika and Zanzibar united to become Tanzania as a sovereign state in 1964. Over 99 percent of the total area of the merged territories is covered by mainland Tanganyika. Zanzibar and Pemba islands are run by distinct governments, although Mafia Island is run from the mainland. Dodoma, Tanzania’s formal capital since 1974, is situated in the middle of the country’s mainland. The biggest city and port in the nation is Dar es Salaam.

Land
Tanzania mainland

Tanzania’s mainland is bordered to the north by Uganda, Kenya, and Lake Victoria; to the east by the Indian Ocean; to the south and southwest by Mozambique, Lake Nyasa, Malawi, and Zambia; and to the west by Lake Tanganyika, Burundi, and Rwanda.

Relief

The majority of Tanzania’s landmass is elevated over 600 feet (200 meters), with the exception of the outlying islands and the small coastal region. Large expanses of plains and plateaus are juxtaposed with striking relief features, such as Lake Tanganyika, which is the second deepest lake in the world at 4,710 feet (1,436 meters), and Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain at 19,340 feet (5,895 meters).

Throughout mainland Tanzania, the East African Rift System splits into two north-south trending branches, leaving behind numerous deep, narrow depressions that are frequently filled with lakes. The Eastern (or Great) Rift Valley stretches through central Tanzania from the Kenyan border in the region of Lakes Eyasi, Manyara, and Natron south to Lake Nyasa at the border with Mozambique. The Western Rift Valley runs along the western frontier and is denoted by Lakes Tanganyika and Rukwa. Situated between the two branches is the central plateau, which encompasses over thirty percent of the nation.

In the southwest of the nation, the Ufipa Plateau, the Mbeya Range, and Rungwe Mountain combine to form the Highlands connected to the Western Rift Valley. After there, the southern highlands follow the Great Rift northeastward until they reach the Ukuguru and Nguru mountains, which are located northwest of Morogoro. The Usambara and Pare mountain ranges stretch from the northern coast in a southeasterly to northwesterly direction, reaching Mount Meru (14,978 feet [4,565 meters]) and the lofty snow-capped summit of Kilimanjaro. The world’s largest crater, or volcanic depression, the Ngorongoro Crater, and the still-active volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai are part of the next mountain range that rises directly to the west of Mount Meru. This chain travels toward Dodoma via a corridor that separates Lakes Eyasi and Manyara.

Drainage

Tanzania’s area is mostly made up of inland water, covering over 22,800 square miles (59,000 square km) due to its abundance of lakes. Not included in the Rift System is Lake Victoria, the second-largest freshwater lake in the world. Despite lacking large rivers, Tanzania is the dividing line from which the three major African rivers—the Nile, the Congo, and the Zambezi—emerge and flow into the Atlantic, Indian, and Mediterranean seas, respectively. The watersheds of these rivers are not met, being divided by the middle plateau.

The Ruvuma, Rufiji, Wami, and Pangani are Tanzania’s four principal rivers, and they all empty into the Indian Ocean. The drainage system of the largest, the Rufiji River, covers the majority of Tanzania’s southern mainland. While other smaller rivers run into internal basins created by the Great Rift Valley, the Kagera River empties onto Lake Victoria. Tanzania’s mainland has a lot of potential for hydroelectricity because it has so many rivers.

Soils

Tanzania’s continental soil diversity is greater than that of any other African nation. The most productive soils are found in the highland regions’ reddish-brown volcanic soils. Although the soils in many river basins are fertile, they need to be controlled for drainage because they are prone to flooding. Conversely, the central plateaus’ red and yellow tropical loams have moderate to poor fertility. High temperatures and little precipitation in these areas promote fast rates of oxidation, which lowers the humus content of the soil and gives it a clayey texture instead of the crumblike structure that temperate soils are meant to have. Additionally, the compacting of the soil by tropical downpours, which are frequently brief but quite strong, results in drainage issues and leaches the soil of nutrients.

Weather Continent Tanzania’s four main climatic and topographic regions are the high inland mountain and lake region of the northern border, home to Mount Kilimanjaro, the hot and humid coastal lowlands of the Indian Ocean shoreline, the hot and arid zone of the broad central plateau, and the highlands of the northeast and southwest, which have temperate to tropical climates. Elevation changes influence Tanzania’s mild tropical climate. A restricted seasonal temperature fluctuation is linked to the year-round high levels of solar radiation; at most locations, the mean monthly variance is less than 9 °F (5 °C). Below 8,200 feet, ground frosts are unusual (2,500 meters).

The annual migration of the intertropical convergence zone has a significant impact on the very seasonal nature of rainfall. Less than 30 inches (750 mm) of precipitation fall in Tanzania’s mainland approximately half the time each year, which is below the minimum needed for most tropical agricultural production methods. The driest region is the central plateau, which receives less than 20 inches (510 mm) annually on average and has one rainy season from December to May. On the coast, where there are two precipitation maxima in October and November and April and May, the amount of precipitation is greater. The yearly precipitation totals in several highland areas and offshore islands are over 60 inches (1,520 mm).

Plant Life and Animal Life

In highland regions with abundant precipitation and no discernible dry season, forests thrive. The predominant vegetation in the western and southern plateaus is miombo woodland, which is made up of an open canopy of trees, particularly Brachystegia, Isoberlinia, Acacia, and Combretum. Bushland and thicket are found in locations with low precipitation. In the floodplain regions, burning for farming and livestock grazing has resulted in the creation of woody grasslands with a canopy cover of less than half. Similarly, poor drainage leads to the appearance of grassland. For instance, calcrete, or a hardpan high in calcium, that was deposited near the surface by evaporated precipitation is responsible for the grasslands of the well-known Serengeti Plain. There are swamps where there is regular flooding.

Alpine-type deserts at high heights, saline deserts in poorly drained regions, and arid deserts in regions with exceptionally little precipitation are examples of desert and semidesert environments.