The Mbulu Highlands is a plateau in north-central Tanzania. Women working on an irrigation canal

The Mbulu Highlands lie between the basins of

Lake Eyasi Lake Eyasi (formerly german: Njarasasee, "Njarasa Lake", and ''Hohenlohesee'', "Hohenlohe Lake") is a lake located in Karatu District of Arusha Region in north Tanzania. Lake Eyasi is the largest body of water in Arusha region. It is a seasonal ...

to the west and

Lake Manyara Lake Manyara is a lake located in Monduli District of Arusha Region, Tanzania and is the seventh-largest lake of Tanzania by surface area, at . It is a shallow, alkaline lake in the Natron-Manyara-Balangida branch of the East African Rift. The n ...

to the east. The highlands extend northeast-southwest. A steep northeast-southwest-running

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...

bounds the highlands on the east, overlooking the basins of Lake Manyara, and further south, Lake Balangida. The plateau descends less steeply in a series of ridges and valleys to Lake Eyasi to the west and the

Yaeda Valley The Yaeda Valley, or Yaida Valley, is a swampy valley located in Mbulu District of Manyara Region, Tanzania. The Valley is situated south of Lake Eyasi. The valley forms an endorheic basin with no drainage outlet. A low ridge running northeast� ...

to the southwest. To the north lies the volcanic

Ngorongoro Highlands The Crater Highlands (Ngorongoro Highlands) are a geological region along the East African Rift in the Arusha Region Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 ...

. The volcanic peak of Mount Hanang rises south of Lake Balangida. The highlands lie mostly in

Mbulu District Mbulu District is one of the six districts of the Manyara Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the north by the Arusha Region and Lake Eyasi, to the east by the Babati Rural District, to the south by the Hanang District, and to the west by the S ...

Manyara Region Manyara Region (''Mkoa wa Manyara'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The regional capital is the town of Babati. According to the 2012 national census, the region had a population of 1,425,131, which was lower than the ...

, extending northwards into

Karatu District Karatu is one of the seven districts in the Arusha Region of Tanzania. The District covers an area of . and has an max elevation of ..It is bordered by the Ngorongoro District to the north, the Meatu District to the west in Simiyu Region. The Mo ...

Arusha Region Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District Council (2012 census). Located below Mount Meru (Tanzania), Mount Meru on the eastern e ...

. The principal town on the plateau is

Mbulu Mbulu is a town in Tanzania and the capital of the Mbulu District. The town is inhabited by the Iraqw people. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Mbulu is also in Mbulu. Mbulu is located in the Mbulu Highlands. The town, also known as Imboru among the ...

. The plateau ranges from 1500 to 2300 meters in elevation. Mean annual rainfall is 1000 mm or more in the highlands, higher than in the surrounding lowlands. Rainfall can vary greatly from year to year. June to September are the driest months, with little or no rainfall. Cool, foggy conditions often prevail, particularly in the mornings, which reduce evaporation and help sustain the plateau's farms and forests. The plateau is home to the

Iraqw people The Iraqw People (; are the Cushitic-speaking ethnic group inhabiting the northern Tanzanian regions. They are a significant group in originating in southwestern Arusha and Manyara regions of Tanzania, near the Rift Valley. The Iraqw people se ...

, who practice intensive agriculture using a broad variety of crops and agricultural terraces. The cultivated areas are mostly above 1800 meters elevation. The natural vegetation of the plateau is mostly

miombo woodland The Miombo woodland is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome (in the World Wide Fund for Nature scheme) located primarily in Central Africa. It includes four woodland savanna ecoregions (listed below) characterized b ...

. In the northern highlands, volcanic grasslands occur on soils formed from volcanic ash. Montane evergreen forests occur at higher elevations. The plateau has two forest reserves, Nou (305.19 km²) and Hassama (49.01 km²)."Hassama Forest Reserve". ''Protected Planet.'' Accessed 24 September 2019

/ref> Drier Southern Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets, ''Acacia-Commiphora'' bushlands and thickets occupy the Eyasi and Manyara lowlands. Tanzania's B141 highway crosses the highlands, running through Mbulu on its way from

Madukani Madukani is an administrative ward in the Dodoma Urban district of the Dodoma Region of Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the ...

east of the highlands to

Singida Singida is a town in central Tanzania. The town is the location of the regional headquarters of Singida Region as well as the district headquarters of Singida Urban District. The region and district are named after the town. Transport Road l ...

in the southwest.

References

{{coord, 3.8556, S, 35.5444, E, display=title, type:landmark_region:TZ-source:google_maps Central Zambezian miombo woodlands East African montane forests Geography of Manyara Region Landforms of Tanzania Southern Eastern Rift Plateaus of Africa