Geography of Malawi

Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa. It is wholly within the tropics; from about 9.30°S at its northernmost point to about 17°S at the southernmost tip. The country occupies a thin strip of land between Zambia and Mozambique, extending southwards into Mozambique along the valley of the Shire River. In the north and north east it also shares a border with Tanzania. Malawi is connected by rail to the Mozambican ports of Nacala and Beira. It lies between latitudes 9° and 18°S, and longitudes 32° and 36°E.

The Great Rift Valley runs through the country from north to south. Lake Malawi lies within the rift valley, making up over three-quarters of Malawi's eastern boundary. The Shire River flows down the rift valley from the south end of the lake to join the Zambezi River farther south in Mozambique.

Plateaus and mountains lie to the east and west of the Rift Valley. The Nyika Plateau lies west of Lake Malawi in the north of the country. The Shire Highlands lie in southern Malawi, east of the rift valley and Shire River and south of Lake Malawi. The Zomba and Mulanje mountain peaks rise from the highlands to respective heights of 2,100 and 3,000 metres (7,000 and 10,000 feet).

Malawi has two sites listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Lake Malawi National Park was first listed in 1984 and the Chongoni Rock Art Area was listed in 2006. Malawi's climate is hot in the low-lying areas in the south of the country and temperate in the northern highlands.

The Great Rift Valley traverses the country from north to south. In this deep trough lies Lake Malawi (also called Lake Nyasa), the third-largest lake in Africa, comprising about 25% of Malawi's area. Lake Malawi is sometimes called the Calendar Lake as it is about 587 km (365 mi) long and 84 km (52 mi) wide. The surface of Lake Malawi is located at 460 m (1,500 ft) above sea level, with a maximum depth of 700 m (2,300 ft), which means the lake bottom is over 210 m (700 ft) below sea level at some points. The Shire River flows from the south end of the lake and joins the Zambezi River 400 km (250 mi) south in Mozambique.

West of the Great Rift Valley, the land forms high plateaus, plateaus rise generally 910 to 1,220 m (3,000 to 4,000 ft) above sea level. In the north, the Nyika Uplands rise as high as 2,400 m (8,000 ft). The area to the west of the lake in northern and central Malawi has been categorised by the World Wildlife Fund as part of the Central Zambezian miombo woodlands ecoregion.

South of the lake lie the Shire Highlands, with an elevation of 600–1,600 m (2,000–5,200 ft), rising to elevations of 2,130 and 3,002 m (6,988 and 9,849 ft) at the Zomba Plateau and Mulanje Massif respectively. The Kirk Range lies west of the Shire, and forms the border with Mozambique. In its middle stretch between Chigaru and Chikwawa, the Shire River drops almost 400 m (1,300 ft) through 80 km (50 mi) of gorges, rapids, and cataracts. In the extreme south, the Shire enters the Zambezi lowlands, and the elevation is only 60–90 m (200–300 ft) above sea level.

Malawi has five national parks: