Malawi

==Geography==
{{Main|Geography of Malawi}}
[[File:Livingstoniamountainsmalawi.jpg|thumb|left|Mountains in Northern Malawi during the rainy season]]
Malawi is a landlocked country in southeastern Africa, bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique to the south, southwest, and southeast. It lies between latitudes [[9th parallel south|9°]] and [[18th parallel south|18°S]], and longitudes [[32nd meridian east|32°]] and [[36th meridian east|36°E]].

The [[East African Rift|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 (lake)|Nyasa]]), making up over three-quarters of Malawi's eastern boundary.<ref name="Cutter142" /> Lake Malawi is sometimes called the Calendar Lake as it is about {{convert|365|mi|km}} long and {{convert|52|mi|km}} wide.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.travelafricamag.com/content/view/231/56/ |title=Malawi: The Lake of Stars |magazine=Travel Africa |issue=4 |date=Summer 1998 |author=Douglas, John |access-date=22 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114161419/http://www.travelafricamag.com/content/view/231/56/ |archive-date=14 January 2009 }}</ref> The [[Shire River]] flows from the south end of the lake and joins the [[Zambezi|Zambezi River]] {{convert|250|mi|km|order=flip}} farther south in [[Mozambique]]. The surface of Lake Malawi is at {{convert|1500|ft|m|0|order=flip}} above sea level, with a maximum depth of {{convert|2300|ft|m|0|order=flip}}, which means the lake bottom is over {{convert|700|ft|m|0|order=flip}} below sea level at some points.<ref>{{citation
 | last = Embassy of the Republic of Malawi in the United States
 | title = Lake Malawi
 | url = http://www.malawiembassy-dc.org/page/lake-malawi
 | access-date = 13 October 2021
 | archive-date = 3 October 2021
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211003131908/http://www.malawiembassy-dc.org/page/lake-malawi
 | url-status = dead
 }}</ref>

[[File:Monoxylon beach Lake Malawi 1557.jpg|thumb|alt=Two small dugout canoes on the shore of a lake|Lake Malawi]]
In the mountainous sections of Malawi surrounding the Rift Valley, plateaus rise generally {{convert|3000|to|4000|ft|m|0|order=flip}} above sea level, although some rise as high as {{convert|8000|ft|m|0|order=flip}} in the north. To the south of Lake Malawi lie the [[Shire Highlands]], gently rolling land at approximately {{convert|3000|ft|m|0|order=flip}} above sea level. In this area, the Zomba and [[Mulanje Massif|Mulanje]] mountain peaks rise to respective heights of {{convert|7000|and|10000|ft|m|0|order=flip}}.<ref name="Cutter142" />

Malawi's capital is [[Lilongwe]], and its commercial centre is [[Blantyre]] with a population of over 500,000&nbsp;people.<ref name="Cutter142" /> 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.<ref name="Turner24">Turner, ''The Statesman's Yearbook'', p. 824</ref>

[[Climate of Malawi|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 otherwise be an 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.<ref name="Cutter142" />

===Flora and fauna===
{{Main|Wildlife of Malawi}}
[[File:Elephant at Majete wildlife reserve.jpg|thumb|Elephant in [[Majete Wildlife Reserve]]]]
Animal life indigenous to Malawi includes [[List of mammals of Malawi|mammals]] such as elephants, hippos, antelopes, buffaloes, big cats, monkeys, rhinos, and bats; a great variety of [[List of birds of Malawi|birds]] including birds of prey, parrots and falcons, waterfowl and large waders, owls and songbirds. Lake Malawi has been described as having ''one of the richest lake fish faunas in the world'', being the home for some 200 mammals, 650 birds, 30+ mollusk, and 5,500+ plant species.<ref name="feow">{{cite web|last1=Ribbink|first1=Anthony.J.|title=Lake Malawi|url=http://www.feow.org/ecoregions/details/lake_malawi|website=Freshwater Ecoregions Of the World|publisher=[[The Nature Conservancy]]|access-date=9 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220081754/http://www.feow.org/ecoregions/details/lake_malawi|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Seven terrestrial ecoregions lie within Malawi's borders: [[Central Zambezian miombo woodlands]], [[Eastern miombo woodlands]], [[Southern miombo woodlands]], [[Zambezian and mopane woodlands]], [[Zambezian flooded grasslands]], [[South Malawi montane forest-grassland mosaic]], and [[Southern Rift montane forest-grassland mosaic]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|display-authors=1|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287|doi-access=free}}</ref>

There are five [[:Category:National parks of Malawi|national parks]], four [[:Category:Protected areas of Malawi|wildlife and game reserves]] and two other [[:Category:Protected areas of Malawi|protected areas]] in Malawi.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Briggs|first=Philip|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fqhc-1eKDOIC&q=There+are+five+national+parks%2C+four+wildlife+and+game+reserves+and+two+other+protected+areas+in+Malawi&pg=PA27|title=Malawi|date=2010|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|isbn=978-1-84162-313-9|language=en}}</ref> The country had a 2019 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 5.74/10, ranking it 96th globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|display-authors=1|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G |doi-access=free}}</ref>