Zambia

Zambia is a landlocked country that takes its name from the Zambezi River, which rises in the north-west corner of the country and forms its southern boundary. Zambia is located in the northern part of the region referred to as Southern Africa and is comparatively large in size - about 752 000km². This makes it a large country about the size of France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland combined. It’s neighbours are: Congo DR to the north and north west, Tanzania to the north east, Malawi to the East, Mozambique to the south east, Zimbabwe to the south, Botswana and Namibia to the South west and Angola to the West.

It consists for the most part of a high plateau broken by the huge valleys of the Upper Zambezi and its major tributaries, of which the Kafue and Luangwa rivers are the largest. Isolated mountain ridges called Nyika Plateaurise rise on the eastern border. Over most of the country the surface tends to be flat, broken by small hills, the result of countless ages of undisturbed erosion of the underlying crystalline rocks. These rocks contain the bulk of the country’s wealth in the form of minerals.

The three great natural lakes of the country, Bangweulu, Mweru and the southern end of Lake Tanganyika are all in the north. Lake Tanganyika is the second deepest natural lake in the world. Lake Bangweulu with its swamps covers a total area of about 3800 square miles, is drained by the Luapula River which flows through Lake Mweru on its way to Congo DR. Along the southern border of the country stretches Lake Kariba, the largest man made lake in Africa and the second largest in the world.

Climate

The general height of the land gives Zambia a more pleasant climate than that experienced in most tropical countries. There are three seasons - cool and dry from May to August, hot and dry from September to November, warm and wet from December to April.

In the Valleys of the Zambezi and Luangwa, particularly during October there is excessive heat, and in the wet season, a high humidity.

In the warm wet season, frequent heavy showers and thunderstorms occur, followed by spells of bright sunshine. Plants grow profusely and rivers and streams fill up almost overnight.
During the cool dry season, night frosts may occur in places sheltered from the wind.

Average temperatures are moderated by the height of the plateau. Temparatures vary from 15˚C to 27˚ C in the cool season with morning and evening temperatures as low as 6˚C to 10˚C and occasional frost on calm nights in valleys and hollows. Invasions of cold air from the south-east bring cloudy to overcast conditions. During the hot season maximum temperatures may range from 27˚ C to 35˚ C.