The
Mulanje Massif, also known as
Mount Mulanje, is a large
monadnockA monadnock or inselberg is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. The term "monadnock" is usually used in the United States, whereas "inselberg" is the more common international term...
in southern
MalawiThe Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast and Mozambique, which surrounds it on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by...
near the city of
BlantyreBlantyre is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce and its largest city, by population, with an estimated 732,518 inhabitants . It sometimes referred to as the commercial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Lilongwe...
, rising sharply from the surrounding plains of Chiradzulu, and the tea-growing Mulanje district. It measures approximately 13x16 miles (22x26 kilometres) and has a maximum elevation of 3,002m at its highest point, Sapitwa Peak.
Much of the Massif consists of rolling grassland at elevations of 1800-2200m, intersected by deep forested ravines.
The
Mulanje Massif, also known as
Mount Mulanje, is a large
monadnockA monadnock or inselberg is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. The term "monadnock" is usually used in the United States, whereas "inselberg" is the more common international term...
in southern
MalawiThe Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast and Mozambique, which surrounds it on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by...
near the city of
BlantyreBlantyre is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce and its largest city, by population, with an estimated 732,518 inhabitants . It sometimes referred to as the commercial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Lilongwe...
, rising sharply from the surrounding plains of Chiradzulu, and the tea-growing Mulanje district. It measures approximately 13x16 miles (22x26 kilometres) and has a maximum elevation of 3,002m at its highest point, Sapitwa Peak.
Much of the Massif consists of rolling grassland at elevations of 1800-2200m, intersected by deep forested ravines. It has many individual peaks reaching heights of over 2500m, including
Chambe PeakChambe Peak is a peak of Mulanje Massif, the highest mountain in Central Africa. A steep path provides a great view across Southern Malawi and Mozambique on a clear day. The plateau on the top is part of the forest of Mulanje Cedar; Chambe also has a farm and living spaces in a hut run by the...
, the West Face of which is the longest
rock climbRock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up or across natural rock formations or man-made rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route...
in Africa.
The Massif was formed by the extrusion of
magmaMagma [from Greek μάγμα, paste] is molten rock that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and may also exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and gas bubbles. Magma often collects in a magma chamber inside a volcano...
into the earth's crust about 130 million years ago. The surrounding rock eroded away over time, leaving behind the erosion-resistant igneous rock of the Mulanje Massif. The first European to report seeing the Massif was
David LivingstoneDavid Livingstone was a Scottish Baptist pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society and explorer in Africa. He was the first European to see the Victoria Falls, to which he gave the English name in honour of his monarch, Queen Victoria. His meeting with H. M...
in 1859, but archeological investigation reveals evidence of human visits to the Massif from the
Stone AgeThe Stone Age is a broad prehistoric time period during which humans widely used stone for toolmaking.Stone tools were made from a variety of different sorts of stone. For example, flint and chert were shaped for use as cutting tools and weapons, while basalt and sandstone were used for ground...
onwards. The elevation of the mountain is high enough for it to disturb upper level air flow and induce rain clouds to form around it, making it an important source of rain water at the head of almost every river that runs through this part of Malawi.
The forested slopes of the Massif support a sizable
timberTimber may refer to:*Lumber, i.e. wood materials* Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S. state of Oregon* Timber , a 1984 arcade game by Bally Midway* An alternative spelling for Timbre...
industry. At one time there was a cableway to transport timber from the edge of the plateau down to the Likhubula Forestry Station, but it fell into disrepair, and currently planks are carried down manually.
The mountain itself is part of the protected
Mulanje Mountain Forest ReserveMulanje Mountain Forest Reserve is a nature reserve founded in 1927 in Malawi. It is operated by the Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust.-Geographical background:...
. The native
Mulanje CypressWiddringtonia is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae . The name was apparently Austrian botanist Stephan Endlicher's way of honouring an early expert on the coniferous forests of Spain, Capt. Samuel Edward Cook or Widdrington...
(
Widdringtonia whytei) has been so heavily logged that it is considered endangered and the park contains the last remaining stands of this tree, as well as a number of other plant and animal species—many of them endemic to the area. Examples include forest butterflies, birds such as the cholo alethe and White-winged Apalis, a dwarf chameleon,
geckoGeckos are small to average sized lizards belonging to the family Gekkonidae, found in warm climates throughout the world. Geckos are unique among lizards in their vocalizations, making chirping sounds in social interactions with other geckos. An estimated 2,000 different species of geckos exist...
s,
skinkSkinks are the most diverse group of lizards. They make up the family Scincidae which shares the superfamily or infraorder Scincomorpha with several other lizard families, including Lacertidae...
s, the Squeaker Frog, and a rare limbless burrowing skink species. The land around the park is threatened by growing population, land use patterns such as forest clearing for farming and firewood, and invasive species such as Mexican Pine and Himalayan Raspberry.
The Massif is popular for hiking and climbing, and has several mountain huts scattered across it. Sapitwa peak was first climbed in 1894, and is now the most popular climb on the plateau.
In 2009 the yellow/pink team made a assent on the mountain, sdaly due the the lost brazilian at the time they were not able to finish the climb. However before making there decent made a huge bonfire to try and contact the brazilian