Zambezia ( ) is the second most-populous province of

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

, located in the central coastal region south-west of

Nampula Province Nampula is a Provinces of Mozambique, province of northern Mozambique. It has an area of and a population of 5,758,920, making it the most populous province in Mozambique (2017 census). Nampula is the capital of the province. History Under Port ...

and north-east of

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

. It has a population of 5.11 million, according to the 2017 census. The provincial capital is

Quelimane Quelimane () is a seaport in Mozambique. It is the administrative Capital (political), capital of the Zambezia Province and the province's largest city, and stands from the mouth of the Rio dos Bons Sinais (or "River of the Good Signs"). The riv ...

. Zambezia has a total area of 103,478 km². The 2,574 kilometre

Zambezi River The Zambezi (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 half of t ...

runs through Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique before emptying into the Indian Ocean off the coast of Zambezia.

Mangroves A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen and remove sal ...

are predominant along the coast and five of the 10 islands

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

are offshore of the region. Considerable forests can be found inland, with a scattering of

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

and rivers. Zambezia's islands lie in the Primeiras e Segundas Environmental Protection Area. This string of islands is split into the Primeiras Islands and Segundas Islands (First Islands and Second Islands in Portuguese) and are largely uninhabited, aside from providing a stop-off for local artisanal fishers. At present, only Ilha do Fogo, one of the Primeiras Islands, has infrastructure. It runs solely on clean energy, using

solar power Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to c ...

, and offers

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

retreats.

Agricultural products include

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

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, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

cashew Cashew is the common name of a tropical evergreen tree ''Anacardium occidentale'', in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to South America and is the source of the cashew nut and the cashew apple, an accessory fruit. The tree can grow as t ...

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source o ...

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

, and

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...

. The country's largest tea estates are at

Gurúè Gurúè (also spelt Gurué; known before independence as ''Vila Junqueiro'') is a town located in the northern part of Mozambique, near the center of the province of Zambezia. It serves as the principal town of Gurué District, and is Mozambique' ...

, while Lioma is a centre of soybean production.

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

is especially productive of

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

, and

gemstone A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewellery, jewelry or other adornments. Certain Rock (geology), rocks (such ...

s are mined at several sites.

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

landed at the site of Quelimane in 1498. Shortly after, the Portuguese established a permanent presence, and many moved up the Zambezi into the interior, for many years the farthest inland European presence (although over time there was much intermarrying, and few residents were of purely Portuguese descent).

Districts

Zambezia Province is divided into the 16 districts of: * Alto Molocue District - with an area of 6,386 km² and 278,064 people, * Chinde District - with an area of 4,403 km² and 121,173 people, * Gilé District - with an area of 8,875 km² and 168,962 people, * Gurué District - with an area of 5,606 km² and 302,948 people, * Ile District - with an area of 5,589 km² and 292,504 people, * Inhassunge District - with an area of 745 km² and 91,989 people, * Lugela District - with an area of 6,178 km² and 137,040 people, * Maganja da Costa District - with an area of 7,597 km² and 282,173 people, * Milange District - with an area of 9,794 km² and 515,029 people, * Mocuba District - with an area of 8,867 km² and 306,543 people, *

Mopeia District Mopeia District is a district of Zambezia Province in Mozambique. Further readingDistrict profile(PDF Portable document format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe Inc., Adobe in 1992 to present documents, inc ...

- with an area of 7,614 km² and 115,614 people, * Morrumbala District - with an area of 12,972 km² and 361,896 people, * Namacurra District - with an area of 1,798 km² and 179,133 people, * Namarroi District - with an area of 3,019 km² and 127,651 people, * Nicoadala District - with an area of 3,582 km² and 232,929 people, and * Pebane District - with an area of 9,985 km² and 186,330 people. In addition, there is one municipality - the city of

- with an area of 117 km² and 192,876 population. The above district populations are from the provisional results of the September 2007 Census.

Demographics

References

Bibliography

External links

* http://www.mozambique.mz/provinc/zambezia/eindex.htm *
Province of Zambezia official site
*
Zambezia Online
{{coord, 17, 0, S, 37, 0, E, display=title Provinces of Mozambique Former Portuguese colonies

Districts

Demographics

See also

References

Bibliography

External links