Gondola 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 ...

Manica Province Manica is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 62,272 km² and a population of 1,945,994 (2017 census). The province is surrounded by Zimbabwe in the west, Tete Province in the northwest, Sofala Province in the east, Save River in t ...

in western

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

Gondola The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull ...

. The area of the district is . It has a population of 262,412 as of 2007.

Geography

The district is located in the east of the province, and borders with

Gorongosa District Gorongosa District is a district of Sofala Province in Mozambique. The principal town is Gorongosa. The district is located in the northwest of the province, and borders with Maringué District in the north, Cheringoma District in the east, Muanz ...

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 ...

to the northeast,

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 ...

of Sofala Province to the east,

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 ...

of Sofala Province to the southeast,

Macate District ''For Macate District in Mozambique, see Macate District, Mozambique'' Macate District is one of nine districts of the Santa Province in Peru. Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática The Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informá ...

to the south and southwest, Chimoio District to the west, and Vanduzi District to the northwest. The main river in the district is the

Pungwe River Pungwe River ( pt, Rio Púngoè, links=no or ''Rio Púnguè'') is a long river in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It rises below Mount Nyangani in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe and then flows southeasteastward through the Manica and Sofala provinces ...

, which makes the border with Gorongosa District. The climate of the district varies with altitude. The lowlands are characterized by relatively low rainfall, between and . The transition zone has the average rainfall , and in higher altitude plains it varies between and .

History

The settlement of Gondola was developed as a station on a railroad connecting Beira and

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

Demographics

As of 2005, 46% of the population of the district was younger than 15 years. 44% 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 mothertongue is Chitwe language. 63% were analphabetic, mostly women.

Administrative divisions

The district is divided into four postos, Amatongas (three localities), Cafumbe (three localities),

(one locality), and Inchope (three localities).

Economy

2% of the households in the district have access to electricity.

Agriculture

In the district, there are 39,000 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,

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

, sweet potato, and rice.

Transportation

There is a road network in the district which includes of paved roads and of unpaved roads. In particular, the national road EN1 (paved) crosses the district north to south, and the national road EN6 (unpaved) connects the coast with

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 ...

. In 2005, of roads were closed because of minefields. A railroad connecting Beira with

Machipanda Machipanda is a town in Manica District, in the middle of Manica Province, Mozambique, near the border with Zimbabwe. Transport The city has one of the most important railway stations on the Beira–Bulawayo railway (or Machipanda railway), t ...

and Zimbabwe crosses the district.

References

{{Coord, 19.094, S, 33.653, E, type:adm1st, display=title Districts in Manica Province