CHAPTER 1 THE LAND 1. Zambia is a landlocked country covering an area of about 753,000 square kilometres. It shares borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania to the North, Malawi and Mozambique to the East, Zimbabwe and Botswana to the South, Namibia to the South-West and Angola to the West. Generally, Zambia lies on the great Central African plateau with an average altitude ranging between 1,000 to 1,300 meters. In the East (particularly the Muchinga Escarpment) the land rises to a height of about 2,000 meters above sea level. Broad depressions are to be found on the edges of the plateau, which form lakes Tanganyika, Mweru and Bangweulu in the North, the Luangwa River in the East, Kafue Basin and the alluvial plains of the Zambezi River in the South and West. 2. Lying between latitude 8o S and longitude 22o and 34o E, Zambia has a tropical climate and vegetation. There are three distinct seasons, the hotdry season during September and October, the warm-wet season between November and April, and a dry winter, the mean temperature varying between 14oC and 30oC, from May to August. 3. Zambia’s vegetation may be very broadly classified as woodland savannah, which is a mixture of various trees, tall grass, shrubs and other woodlands, which are mainly of the deciduous type usually found on the main plateau. 12