Nhamatanda

Province

Nhamatanda (formerly Vila Machado, English Bambu Creek ) is a city in the Mozambican province of Sofala.

Geography

Nhamatanda is the capital of the district Nhamatanda and lies on the railway line from the provincial capital Beira to Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. Beira is located 92 kilometers south-east of Nhamatanda. The sea level is 64 m.

Population

The city has about 20,000 inhabitants. They speak mainly Chisena.

History

Nhamatanda was founded in 1898 by the Portuguese, then known as Nova Fontesvila by Marquis Fontes Pereira de Melo. In the 1920s, the city was renamed Vila Machado, according to Joaquim José Machado, the governor of Mozambique from 1890 to 1925. In 1975, after the independence of Mozambique, the town received its present name after the nearby river of the same.