Geography of Zimbabwe

Satellite image of Zimbabwe, generated from raster graphics data supplied by The Map Library

Topography of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe's cities, main towns, selected villages and archaeological sites, rivers and its highest point

Location: Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia

Geographic coordinates: 20°00′S, 30°00′E

Map references: Africa

Area:
total: 409,542 km²
land: 386,670 km²
water: 3,910 km²

Area - comparative: slightly larger than Montana , USA

Land boundaries:
total: 3,066 km
border countries: Botswana 813 km, Mozambique 1,231 km, South Africa 225 km, Zambia 797 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March)

Terrain: mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: junction of the Runde and Save rivers 162 m
highest point: Mount Nyangani 2,592 m

Natural resources: coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals

Land use:
arable land: 8.4% (1998 est.), 7% (1993 est.)
permanent crops: 0.34% (1998 est.), 0% (1993 est.)
permanent pastures: 13% (1993 est.)
forests and woodland: 18% (2006 est.); deforestation occurring at the rate of 3,000 km² per annum[1]
other: 91.26% (1998 est.), 57% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 1,170 km² (1998 est.), 1,930 km² (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare

Environment - species Blue Wildebeest

Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; land degradation; air and water pollution; the black rhinoceros herd - once the largest concentration of the species in the world - has been significantly reduced by poaching; poor mining practices have led to toxic waste and heavy metal pollution

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: landlocked

Hydrology: Sediment transport has been studied for rivers in Zimbabwe using the HBV hydrology transport model.

Table 1.

Rainfall and land use suitability options in Zimbabwe's natural regions Natural region Rainfall Main land use type

1 Above 1050 mm/annum with some precipitation in all months of the year Afforestation, fruit, tea, coffee and intensive livestock production

2 750–1000 mm/annum seasonally confined with infrequent short dry spells Large scale intensive crop and livestock production

3 650–800 mm/annum with fairly severe mid-season dry spells Livestock production with fodder crops. Marginal production of maize, tobacco and cotton

4 450-650 mm/annum with periodic seasonal drought and severe rainy season dry spells Livestock production and drought resistant crops

5 Too low and erratic for even drought resistant fodder and grain crops Extensive livestock and/or game ranching

Source: CSO (1997, 144).

[edit] See also

• Limpopo River
• Zimbabwe
• Soil Maps of Zimbabwe European Digital Archive on the Soil Maps of the world
• Wikimedia Atlas of Zimbabwe