Zimbabwe Geography

Climate in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has a subtropical to tropical climate with a humid, sometimes humid and hot summer with maximum temperatures of over 35 ° C and a winter dry season at temperatures of around 25 ° C. However, since most of Zimbabwe is at higher altitudes, the summer heat here is more moderate with temperatures between 25 ° C and 30 ° C and in winter there can be night frosts of -5 ° C. The rainy season lasts from November to March, with over 90% of the annual rainfall falling, which averages 1000 mm. The average annual temperature in Zimbabwe is between 19 and 22 ° C. In the past, the country has occasionally been hit by exceptional rainfall and drought disasters that have had serious consequences for the people of Zimbabwe and agriculture.

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Geography in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe borders Zambia in the northwest, Botswana in the southwest, South Africa in the south and Mozambique in the entire east.

The central part of the 390,757 km² land area of Zimbabwe lies at an average of 1200 m above sea level. NN located high plateau, the high field, which sinks to the west to the Kalahari Basin of Botswana and to the north, south and southeast to the peripheral areas of the Lowveld at 400 – 800 m. Above sea level. NN drops, in which there is a significantly more humid and hotter climate. The eastern border from Zimbabwe to Mozambique is formed by the mountain range of the Eastern Highlands with Zimbabwe’s highest mountain, Mount Inyangani, which has a summit height of 2592 meters above sea level and in the vicinity of which the river Pungwe rises, which rises the mountains over the land area drained from Mozambique to the Indian Ocean.

The largest river in Zimbabwe is the Zambezi in the north of the country, which at the same time forms the border with Zambia and absorbs the precipitation falling on the highlands via the river systems of the Shangani and Mazoe. However, some of the precipitation is also discharged directly to the Indian Ocean via the Save, which rises south of the city of Harare. To the south the land drains over the Umzingwani into the Limpopo, which also forms the border river to South Africa.

Flora and fauna in Zimbabwe

The plateaus of Zimbabwe are largely covered by wet and dry savannahs, with miombo and mopane forests predominating alongside baobab and liver sausage trees and umbrella acacias. The surface of the dry lowlands consists of tree savannahs. To the southwest towards the Kalahari, isolated teak forests have been preserved. The rainy mountain range of the Eastern Highlands is covered with grass savannahs and evergreen mountain forests. The grasses of the savannah, which wither completely in the dry season, reach a height of up to 2 meters in the extensive rainy seasons and form the food basis for numerous animal species such as elephants, giraffes, zebras, antelopes and buffalo, which in turn are predators such as lions, leopards and cheetahs Attract hyenas and jackals. With a lot of luck, the black rhinoceros can still be found in some national parks. In addition to the large mammals, numerous large reptiles such as monitor lizards and crocodiles but also poisonous snakes such as the African tree snake, the horned puff adder or mambas and cobras can be observed.

The large birds include flamingos, eagles, ostriches and vultures. The savannahs are also home to numerous species of interesting insects.

Culture and sights in Zimbabwe

The sights of Zimbabwe naturally include a total of 11 national parks and protected areas, which, in addition to fascinating insights into the flora and fauna of Zambia, also offer the country’s most spectacular impressions of the landscape. The famous Victoria waterfalls are also definitely worth seeing.

In addition, the stone buildings and ruins of Great Zimbabwe from the 11th to 14th centuries are worth seeing. The largest of these ruined cities, the 15th century ruined city of Khami, is located west of Bulawayo. Already at this time a significant tradition of sculpting was developing in Zimbabwe, as can be seen in the impressive stone carvings in the ruined cities.

Today Zimbabwe is known for its contemporary sculpture, the development of which was favored by the building of the National Gallery in the former Salisbury (Harare) and by the rich occurrence of corresponding gemstones such as serpentinite, opal, dolomite and marble.