Dondo District is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

Sofala Province Sofala is a province of Mozambique. It has a population of 2,259,248 (2017 census). Beira is the capital of the province, named for the ruined port of Sofala which is to the south. History Portuguese landholder and imperialist Joaquim Carlos ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. The principal town is Dondo. The district is located in the center of the province, and borders with

Muanza District Muanza District is a Districts of Mozambique, district of Sofala Province in Mozambique. The principal town is Muanza. The district is located in the center of the province, and borders with Cheringoma District in the north, Dondo District in the s ...

in the north, the city of Beira and

Buzi District Buzi District is a Districts of Mozambique, district of Sofala Province in Mozambique. The principal town is Búzi. The district is located in the southeast of the province, and borders with Nhamatanda District in the north, Dondo District in the ...

in the south, and with

Nhamatanda District Nhamatanda District is a Districts of Mozambique, district of Sofala Province in Mozambique. The principal town is Nhamatanda. The district is located in the center of the province, and borders with Gorongosa District in the north, Muanza District ...

in the west. In the east, the district is limited by the Indian Ocean. The area of the district is . It has a population of 142,387 as of 2007.

Geography

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, the climate of the district is transitional from tropical rainforest to hot steppe. The rainfall varies between and . There is a coastal forest, the Dondo forest (19°36'S 34°44'E), near the main road (EN 6) to

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

and 25 miles north of Beira with a species rich flora and fauna, including the eastern green-backed honeyguide, white-chested alethe,

Böhm's spinetail Böhm's spinetail, also Bohm's spinetail or Boehm's spinetail, (''Neafrapus boehmi''), also known as the bat-like spinetail, is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, DRC, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, ...

black-headed apalis The black-headed apalis (''Apalis melanocephala'') is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropi ...

speckle-throated woodpecker The speckle-throated woodpecker (''Campethera scriptoricauda''), also known as Reichenow's woodpecker, is an East African woodpecker often considered a subspecies of Bennett's woodpecker. The bird is named after the German ornithologist Anton Rei ...

red-winged prinia The red-winged prinia or the red-winged warbler (''Prinia erythroptera'') is a bird species in the family Cisticolidae. It formerly belonged in the monotypic genus ''Heliolais''. It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Repub ...

east coast akalat The east coast akalat or Gunning's robin (''Sheppardia gunningi'') is a small passerine bird which can be found in the east of Africa from Kenya to Mozambique, and is named after J. W. B. Gunning. This species is a forest-dwelling insectivorous ...

, violet-backed sunbird and

olive-headed weaver The olive-headed weaver (''Ploceus olivaceiceps'') is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is found in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. It is threatened by habitat loss ...

History

The

Beira Railway Beira can refer to: * Beira (mythology), the mother to all the gods and goddesses in the Celtic mythology of Scotland *Beira, Azores, a small village on São Jorge Island * Beira (Portugal), the name of a region (and former province) in north-cent ...

, constructed in the end of the 19th century by the

Beira Railroad Corporation The Beira Railroad Corporation, (''Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro da Beira'' in Portuguese) or CCFB, was a joint venture railway company that was responsible for operating the railway lines in central Mozambique. It was formed to reform the railway ...

, a subsidiary of the

British South Africa Company The British South Africa Company (BSAC or BSACo) was chartered in 1889 following the amalgamation of Cecil Rhodes' Central Search Association and the London-based Exploring Company Ltd, which had originally competed to capitalize on the expecte ...

, between Beira and

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

, had a considerable impact on the development of the district.

Demographics

As of 2005, 42% of the population of the district was younger than 15 years. 65% did speak

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

. The most common mother tongue is

Cindau Ndau (also called chiNdau, Chindau, Ndzawu, Njao, Sofala, Southeast Shona, Chidanda) is a Bantu language spoken by 1,400,000 people in central Mozambique and southeastern Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a ...

. 57% of the population of the age above five had school education, most of them at primary school level.

Administrative divisions

The district is divided into two postos, Dondo (two localities) and Mafambisse (two localities).

Economy

9% of the households in the district have access to electricity.

Agriculture

In the district, there are 26,000 farms which have on average of land. The main agricultural products are corn,

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

cowpea The cowpea (''Vigna unguiculata'') is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus ''Vigna''. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few input ...

, peanut, sweet potato, ad rice.

Transportation

Dondo is an important railway node and is connected by railways with Beira, Manica and

Tete Province Tete is a Provinces of Mozambique, province of Mozambique. It has an area of 98,417 km² and a population of 2,648,941 (2017 census). Tete is the capital of the province. The Cahora Bassa Dam is situated in this province. Districts On ...

s, as well as Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There is a road network in the district long.

References

{{Coord, 19, 37, S, 34, 45, E, region:MZ_type:city, display=title Districts in Sofala Province