Mount Chiperone is a mountain in northern

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 ...

. It lies in

Milange District Milange District is a district of Zambezia Province in Mozambique. The town of Milange is the district center. History Milange District was one of the areas where the Revolutionary Party of Mozambique (PRM) operated during the Mozambican Civil W ...

of Zambézia Province, 40 km SSW of the town of

Milange Milange is a town in Zambezia Province of Mozambique. It is the district center of Milange District. Timberlake, Jonathan; Julian Bayliss, Tereza Alves, Susana Baena, Jorge Francisco, Tim Harris, Camila da Sousa (2007). "The Biodiversity and Conserv ...

. Mount Chiperone rises from the surrounding plains, 50 km south of the

Mount Mulanje Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, Co ...

massif in southern Malawi. The plains to the north are part of the Central African Plateau, about 400–450 m altitude. The plains to the south are lower, 200–350 meters elevation, descending towards the

Zambezi River The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

. The valley of the

Shire River The Shire is the largest river in Malawi. It is the only outlet of Lake Malawi and flows into the Zambezi River in Mozambique. Its length is . The upper Shire River issues from Lake Malawi and runs approximately before it enters shallow Lake Malo ...

, part of the

African Rift Valley The East African Rift (EAR) or East African Rift System (EARS) is an active continental rift zone in East Africa. The EAR began developing around the onset of the Miocene, 22–25 million years ago. In the past it was considered to be part of ...

system, lies 35 km to the west. Timberlake, Jonathan; Julian Bayliss, Tereza Alves, Susana Baena, Jorge Francisco, Tim Harris, Camila da Sousa (2007). "The Biodiversity and Conservation of Mount Chiperone, Mozambique". Darwin Initiative Award 15/036: Monitoring and Managing Biodiversity Loss in South-east Africa's Montane Ecosystems. Accessed 22 June 2018

/ref> About 100 square kilometers of the mountain lie above 600 meters elevation, with around 4915

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

s above 800 meters elevation, 2770 ha above 1000 meters, and only 110 ha over 1800 meters.

Flora

The plant communities on Mt. Chiperone vary with elevation and exposure.

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 ...

is predominant below 1000 meters elevation. Most of the woodland below 800 meters elevation has been cleared for cultivation, with most of the remaining woodland on the northern and western slopes. ''

Brachystegia spiciformis ''Brachystegia spiciformis'', commonly known as zebrawood, or msasa, is a medium-sized African tree having compound leaves and racemes of small fragrant green flowers. The tree is broad and has a distinctive amber and wine red colour when the y ...

'' is the predominant tree in the woodland, forming a 10-15 meter high canopy. ''B. utilis'' is more common on drier ridges and shallower soils, forming an open canopy of 8-10 meters. Both species are dry-season deciduous, and canopy cover ranges from 80% to 20%, with a well-developed grass layer covering the ground underneath. Associated trees include ''Bridelia micrantha, Combretum molle, Pericopsis angolensis, Pterocarpus angolensis, Erythrina abyssinica, Cussionia arborea, Uapaca kirkiana, Uapaca nitida, Psorospermum febrifugum, Parinari excelsa,'' and ''Faurea saligna''. Above 1000 meters elevation, the woodlands transition to medium-altitude forests. The main tree species are ''

Newtonia buchananii ''Newtonia buchananii'' is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae. Description ''Newtonia buchananii'' is a tree from 10–40 meter high, forming a loose canopy with a flattish top. It has smooth bark, and the trunk has small buttresses at t ...

, Strombosia scheffleri, Rinorea convallarioides, Chrysophyllum gorungosanum,'' and scattered large ''

Khaya anthotheca ''Khaya anthotheca'', with the common name East African mahogany, is a large tree species in the Meliaceae family, native to tropical Africa. The name ''anthotheca'' was taken from the Greek word ''anthos'', meaning flower, while ''theca'' refer ...

''. ''

Albizia gummifera ''Albizia gummifera'' is a species of legume in the family Fabaceae, native to sub-saharan Africa and Madagascar, and naturalized in Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the large ...

, Macaranga capensis'', and ''

Trema orientalis ''Trema orientale'' (sometimes spelled ''Trema orientalis'') is a species of flowering tree in the hemp family, Cannabaceae. The basionym of ''T. orientalis'', ''Celtis orientalis'' was originally described and published in ''Species P ...

'' are found at the forest edges, and where the forest transitions to woodland. High-altitude forests are found above 1600 meters elevation.

References

{{Mozambique-geo-stub Chiperone Chiperone Chiperone Chiperone Important Bird Areas of Mozambique Inselbergs of Africa