The Umalila Mountains are a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

in southern

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

, on the border with

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 ...

. The Umalila Mountains are part of Tanzania's Southern Highlands. The mountains are named for the Malila people.

Geography

The Umalila Mountains lie northwest of Lake Malawi, and trend roughly northwest-southeast. They form part of the western edge of the

East African Rift 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 a ...

. The Kyela Plain lies to the east and northeast of the mountains in the rift valley.Racaud, Sylvain, and Francois Bart (2017). "Rural-Urban Dynamics in the East African Mountains" Mkuki na Nyota Publishers, 2017 The volcanic

Poroto Mountains The Poroto Mountains are a mountain range in the Mbeya Region of Tanzania. They are located east of the city of Mbeya. The Poroto Mountains are a northwestward extension of the Kipengere Range, and part of the Southern Highlands. The Poroto mount ...

and

Mount Rungwe Mount Rungwe is a volcanic mountain in Mbeya Region, in Tanzania's Southern Highlands. At an altitude of , it is southern Tanzania's second-highest peak. Rungwe's volcano is currently inactive. Geography Rungwe stands at the junction of the e ...

lie to the northeast across the

Kiwira River Kiwira River is a river located in Rungwe District and Kyela District of Mbeya Region, Tanzania. Course It rises in the Poroto Mountains southeast of Mbeya and receives several streams originating on the slopes of Mount Rungwe, including the Mar ...

. The town of

Mbeya Mbeya is a city located in south west Tanzania, Africa. Mbeya's urban population is 620,000 according to the 2022 census. Mbeya is the capital of the surrounding rural Mbeya region (population, with Mbeya, totals approx. 2 million). Mbeya is sit ...

lies to the north, and plateaus to the west. The Songwe River drains the western and southern slopes of the mountains, and separate the Umalila Mountains from the

Misuku Hills The Misuku Hills are a mountain range in Malawi's Northern Region. Geography The Misuku Hills lie near Malawi's northern border. They are bounded on the north by the Songwe River, which forms Malawi's northern border with Tanzania. Tanzania's Um ...

in neighboring Malawi. The Kiwira River drains the eastern slopes. Both rivers empty into Lake Malawi.

Climate

The mountains have a tropical montane climate. Rainfall is mostly during the November through April wet season, although higher elevations experience mists and light rain during the May through August dry season. The highlands are cooler than the surrounding lowlands, with annual temperatures between 13°C and 19°C. The Umalila Mountains are drier than

and the Poroto Mountains to the northeast.

Ecology

The natural vegetation at lower elevations is

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 ...

, which extends up to . Higher elevations are home to montane grasslands and patches of montane evergreen forest, part of the

Southern Rift montane forest-grassland mosaic Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

ecoregion. The mountains are extensively cultivated, and little natural forest remains.

Protected areas

Forest reserves include the Umalila Catchment Forest Reserve (CFR) (3,796 ha), Mpara CFR (1,048 ha), Kyosa Local Authority Forest Reserve (LA-FR) (957 ha), Msimwa LA-FR (727 ha), and Iyondo LA-FR (973 ha).

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web , title = Map: Umalila Mountains , publisher = BirdLife International , website = dataazone.birdlife.org , url = http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/umalila-mountains-iba-tanzania/map , access-date = 2019-12-08 {{cite web , title = Important Bird Areas factsheet: Umalila Mountains , year = 2019 , publisher = BirdLife International , website = www.birdlife.org , url = http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/umalila-mountains-iba-tanzania/text , access-date = 2019-09-05 {{cite web , author = Walsh, M. T. , date = April 1998 , title = The Malila: Preliminary Notes on Language, History and Ethnography , url = https://www.scribd.com/doc/14539285/The-Malila-Preliminary-Notes-on-Language-History-and-Ethnography , access-date = 2019-12-08 , website = www.scribd.com Unpublished paper, first draft. Geography of Mbeya Region Geography of Songwe Region Mountain ranges of Tanzania Southern Highlands, Tanzania Southern Rift montane forest–grassland mosaic Important Bird Areas of Tanzania