Chilumba is a town in

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

. It is an urban centre in

Karonga District Karonga is a district in the Northern Region of Malawi. The district covers an area of 3,355 km.² and has a population of 365,028. It is a border district between Malawi and Tanzania, mainly occupied by the Tumbuka and Nkhonde tribes. Ot ...

Location

Chilumba is located along the western shores of

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fre ...

, at the southern end of

, in the Northern Region of Malawi. This location is approximately , by road, south-east of the town of

Karonga Karonga is a township in the Karonga District in Northern Region of Malawi. Located on the western shore of Lake Nyasa, it was established as a slaving centre sometime before 1877. As of 2018 estimates, Karonga has a population of 61,609. His ...

, where the district headquarters are located. Chilumba is located approximately , by road, north of the city of

Mzuzu Mzuzu is the capital of Malawi's Northern Region and is the third largest city by population in Malawi. The city has 221,272 residents and 20,000 commuters (Mzuzu University students) with about 1.7 million people in its metropolitan area. It i ...

, the headquarters of Malawi's Northern Region. The geographical coordinates of Chilumba are:10°26'15.0"S, 34°14'51.0"E (Latitude:-10.437500; Longitude:34.247500). The own sits at an average elevation of , above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. ...

Population

In 2011, the population of Chilumba was estimated at about 5,000 people.

Overview

The section of lake facing Chilumba is called Chilumba Bay. The

MV Ilala MV ''Ilala'', formally ''Ilala II'', is a motor ship that has plied Lake Malawi in East Africa since 1951. Every week she crosses the lake all the way north to Chilumba, Malawi, near Tanzania (about from Monkey Bay) and then returns to Monkey ...

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

, which connects the main settlements on Lake Malawi, has Chilumba as its northernmost stop. Once it has reached Chilumba, it starts its travel back to its base in Lusumbwe in the Southern Region of Malawi. Heterogeneity in landscape gives Chilumba a unique environment for diversification of recreation and production activities. From the lake side, it is one of the unique places with Chirwa Island and Chitende Island, that host several species of plants, birds and fishes. The Islands are used by fishermen as temporary docking points. The peninsula facing Chirwa is a typical feature with rocky shore with deep waters potentially suitable for rock diving. The bay facing the jetty has shallow waters for docking boats and potential for shallow water walking to 50m then swim into deep waters facing the Chitende Peninsula and Mphiri hills. West of the peninsula lies a stretch of pure sand beach. The sand extends upland a distance of about and magnificently looks like a desert of dark sand separated by two swamps. The upper land away from the lake is prime agricultural land used during the 1980s to early 1990s as a maize seed production diversification scheme. Behind lies a natural boundary of forest reserve that extends to the lake through Mphiri hills to the north, ideal for horse riding.

References

{{Authority control Lake Malawi Karonga District Populated places in Northern Region, Malawi