Viphya Mountains

The Viphya Mountains are a 209 km long as the highlands pronounced hilly ridge in the north of Malawi. The Viphya plateau on which also the Viphya Forest is located, is part of this landscape.

Geography

The mountain range extends into the northern region of the Valley of the Dwambasi River from north to north-easterly direction towards the valley of the South Rukuru at the foot of Nyika plateau. The altitudes 1500-1800 m be interrupted in the northern third of the highlands only by a 24 km wide and 1200 m high saddle on which is the third largest city of Malawi, Mzuzu. The highest peak of the mountain range, Mount Uzumara (1943 m), located in the northern part of the Viphya Mountains, whereas the southern part of the Mount Champhila (1820 m) is completed. West of the Viphya Mountains are bounded by a portion of the northerly trending fold of the Malawi Rift, while the eastern part rugged rugged expires on Lake Malawi.

Nature

The hilly upland consisting mainly of a grassy landscape, interspersed with small areas of primary forests. An exception is the second largest plateau of Malawi, the 90 km long and up to 20 km wide plateau Viphya dar. On the plateau the largest ever man-made forest was planted, the Viphya Forest. Different type of pine trees here primarily determine the image, but also eucalyptus trees are part of the artificial planting. Originally in 1964 the forest for pulp production was planted. However, economic difficulties prevented the project.

The degree of which can be regarded as endemic plants is higher than in the existing forest areas in the typical local grasslands. Approximately 6,000 plant species have been documented in Malawi, while the exact number is not known and it can be of a far greater diversity of species. How many different species of plants occur in the Viphya Mountains is also not known.

1958, and thus quite early, 156,000 ha of forest Viphya the mountains were placed under protection. But the lack of enforcement of protection has already been damaged parts of the landscape.

Economic use

Due to the artificial plant the pine forest plantation on the Viphya plateau, a modest timber industry has evolved over the years. A sawmill in Chikangawa produced in 2004 for example, 13,000 m3 and 15,000 m3 of sawn timber wood for paneling. In addition, in the area charcoal is made. The government planned waste wood is to be used as biomass to generate electricity. To this end, 53,000 hectares of pine forest have already been released for cultivation. However, uncontrolled deforestation, land clearing to the wood of the forest to be used as a simple firewood, deforestation for agricultural cultivations and a variety of forest fires have, the forest inventory already inflicted extreme damage.

In all areas of the highlands are cassava (manioc ) and up to 24 different varieties of Irish Potatos, like the potato is called in Malawi, grown .. In the southern part of the Highlands there are increasingly maize and tobacco production, whereas north of Mzuzu in the Bergen coffee is grown and the eastern slopes are used for Malawi as tea plantations. Parts of the northern Viphya Mountains on the other hand serve the military as a training ground ..