Zimbabwe Tourism in Southeast Africa
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the north, and Mozambique to the east. Its capital and largest city is Harare. Zimbabwe has a population of about 15 million, who speak 16 official languages, with English, Shona, and Ndebele being the most common. The country was once referred to by Samora Machel as the "Jewel of Africa" due to its great prosperity during the early years of Robert Mugabe.
Beginning in the 9th century, during the late Iron Age, the Bantu people (who would become the Shona ethnic group) established the city-state of Great Zimbabwe. The city-state became one of Africa's major trading centers by the 11th century, controlling the gold, ivory, and copper trade with the Swahili coast, which linked it to Arab countries and India. By the mid-15th century, the city-state had been abandoned. From there, the Kingdom of Zimbabwe was established, followed by the Rozvi and Mutapa kingdoms.
The British South African Federation, Cecil Rhodes, demarcated the territory of Rhodesia in 1890 when they conquered Mashonaland and then in 1893 Matabeleland after fierce resistance by the Matabele people known as the First Matabele War. The federation's rule ended in 1923 with the establishment of Southern Rhodesia as a self-governing British colony. In 1965, a white separatist minority government unilaterally declared independence as Rhodesia. The country suffered international isolation and a 15-year guerrilla war with black nationalist forces; This culminated in a peace agreement establishing universal suffrage and de jure sovereignty as Zimbabwe in April 1980. Zimbabwe later joined the Commonwealth of Nations, but was suspended in 2002 due to violations of international law by its government under Robert Mugabe, who resigned in December 2003.
Mugabe became Prime Minister of Zimbabwe in 1980, when his ZANU–PF party won elections following the end of white minority rule. He then served as President of Zimbabwe from 1987 until his resignation in 2017. Under Mugabe's authoritarian regime, the state security apparatus dominated the country and was responsible for widespread human rights abuses. From 2000 to 2009 the economy experienced a recession and hyperinflation before recovering after the use of currencies other than the Zimbabwean dollar was allowed, although growth has since faltered. On 15 November 2017, after more than a year of protests against his government and Zimbabwe's rapidly declining economy, Mugabe was placed under house arrest by the country's military in a coup, and Mugabe resigned six days later. Emmerson Mnangagwa has since served as Zimbabwe's president.
Zimbabwe is a member of the United Nations, the Southern African Development Community, the African Union, and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.
Etymology
There are two theories about the origin of the word "Zimbabwe": Various sources hold that the word derives from "mabwe dzimba--dza", translated from the Karanga dialect of Shona as "large house of stone" (dzimba = plural of imba, "house"; mabwe = plural of bwe, "stone"). Archaeologist Peter Garlake claims that "Zimbabwe" is a contracted form of dzimba-Hwe meaning "respected house" in the Zezuru dialect of Shona, and is usually applied to the house of a chief.
Geography
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country, surrounded by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the west, Zambia to the southwest, and Mozambique to the east and northeast. Its northwest corner is approximately 150 meters from Namibia, forming a near-quadrilateral quadripoint. Most of the country's topography consists of highlands that run from southwest to north with elevations between 1,000 and 1,600 m. The easternmost part of the country is mountainous, an area known as the Eastern Highlands, with Mount Nyangani as its highest point at 2,592 m.
The highlands are known for their natural environment, which is a tourist destination such as Nyanga, Troutbeck, Chimanimani, Vumba, and the Chirinda Forest on Mount Selinda. About 20% of the country consists of lowland areas, (lowlands) below 900 m. Victoria Falls, one of the largest and most spectacular waterfalls in the world, is located in the northwest of the country and is part of the Zambezi River.
Geology
Over geological time Zimbabwe has experienced two major post-Gondwanan erosion cycles (known as the African and post-African), and a very low Plio-Pleistocene cycle.
Climate
Zimbabwe has a subtropical climate with many local variations. The southern regions are known for their heat and drought, while parts of the central highlands receive frost in winter. The Zambezi Valley is known for its extreme heat, and the Eastern Highlands typically experience cool temperatures and the highest rainfall in the country. The country's rainy season generally lasts from late October to March, and the hot climate is moderated by increasing altitude. Zimbabwe is subject to recurrent droughts. In 2019, at least 55 elephants died due to drought. Severe storms are rare.
Biodiversity
Zimbabwe has seven terrestrial ecoregions: Kalahari acacia–baikiaea woodlands, Southern African bushland, Southern miombo woodlands, Zambezia baikiaea woodlands, Zambezia and mopan woodlands, Zambezia halophytes, and the Eastern Zimbabwe montane grassland mosaic in the Eastern Highlands.
The country is largely savanna, although the humid and mountainous Eastern Highlands support areas of tropical evergreen and hardwood forests. Trees found in the Eastern Highlands include teak, mahogany, large specimens of strangler fig, forest Newtonia, big leaf, white stinkwood, chirinda stinkwood, knobthorn and many others.
In the lowland parts of the country, fever trees, mopane, combretum and baobab are abundant. Much of the country is covered by miombo woodland, dominated by brachystegia and other species. Among the many flowers and shrubs are hibiscus, fire lily, snake lily, spider lily, leonotis, cassia, wisteria trees and dombeya. There are about 350 species of mammals found in Zimbabwe. There are also many snakes and lizards, over 500 species of birds and 131 species of fish.
Environmental issues
Most of Zimbabwe was once covered by forests with abundant wildlife. Deforestation and hunting have reduced the number of wildlife. Forest degradation and deforestation caused by population growth, urban expansion and fuel use are major concerns and have led to erosion reducing the amount of fertile soil. Local farmers have been criticized by environmentalists for burning vegetation to heat their tobacco barns. The country has an average score of 6.31/10 on the 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index, ranking it 81st globally out of 172 countries.
