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Malawi is a landlocked country in southeastern Africa. It is wholly within the tropics; from about 9°30S at its northernmost point to about 17°S at the southernmost tip. The country occupies a thin strip of land between Zambia and Mozambique protruding 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, and to the east of the valley lies Lake Malawi (also called Lake Nyasa), making up over three-quarters of Malawi's eastern boundary.〔Cutter, ''Africa 2006'', p. 142〕 Lake Malawi is sometimes called the Calendar Lake as it is about long and wide. The Shire River flows from the south end of the lake and joins the Zambezi River farther south in Mozambique. The surface of Lake Malawi is located at above sea level, with a maximum depth of , which means the lake bottom is over below sea level at some points. In the mountainous sections of Malawi surrounding the Rift Valley, plateaus rise generally above sea level, although some rise as high as in the north. To the south of Lake Malawi lie the Shire Highlands, gently rolling land at approximately above sea level. In this area, the Zomba and Mulanje mountain peaks rise to respective heights of .〔 Malawi's capital is Lilongwe, and its commercial centre is Blantyre with a population of over 500,000 people.〔 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.〔Turner, ''The Statesman's Yearbook'', p. 824〕 Malawi's climate is hot in the low-lying areas in the south of the country and temperate in the northern highlands. The altitude moderates what would be an otherwise equatorial climate. Between November and April the temperature is warm with equatorial rains and thunderstorms, with the storms reaching their peak severity in late March. After March, the rainfall rapidly diminishes and from May to September wet mists float from the highlands into the plateaus, with almost no rainfall during these months.〔 ==Landscape== The Great Rift Valley traverses the country from north to south. In this deep trough lies Lake Malawi, the third-largest lake in Africa, comprising about 20% of Malawi's area. The Shire River flows from the south end of the lake and joins the Zambezi River farther south in Mozambique. West of the Great Rift Valley, the land forms high plateaus, generally between above sea level. In the north, the Nyika Uplands rise as high as . 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 , rising to elevations of at the Zomba Plateau and Mulanje Massif respectively. In the extreme south, the elevation is only above sea level. Malawi is one of Sub-Saharan Africa's most densely populated countries. The population of Lilongwe—Malawi's capital since 1971—exceeds 400,000. All government ministries and the Parliament are located in Lilongwe. Blantyre, Malawi remains Malawi's major commercial center and largest city, having grown from an estimated 109,000 inhabitants in 1966 to nearly 500,000 in 1998. Malawi's President resides in Blantyre. The Supreme Court is seated in Blantyre. Malawi has five national parks: *Cape Maclear National Park *Kasungu National Park *Lengwe National Park *Liwonde National Park *Nyika National Park 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Geography of Malawi」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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