Bangweul Marshes

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Bangweul swamps during the dry season

The Bangweul swamps are part of the large Bangweulu basin on the North Zambian plateau, which consists of the Bangweulee and a large surrounding wetland. 17 rivers with a catchment area of ​​190,000 km² flow into the basin. It is only drained by a river, the Luapula , but 90 percent of the water evaporates. Bangweulu means place where the water meets the sky .

The Bangweulus Marshes are a floodplain landscape with an extension of 250 kilometers from north to south and 180 kilometers from east to west. In the rainy season between November and March, your area is flooded by 1200 millimeters of rain in the entire catchment area, so that the water level rises by one to two meters. This has the consequence that the shoreline is shifted up to 45 kilometers to the periphery.

fauna

Compared to the Okawango Delta in Botswana , the area surpasses the number of its bird and animal species. In addition to wild animals, mainly water birds can be seen, including the shoebill , but also hippos , crocodiles , various antelope species , including the black Lechwe , elephants and leopards .

At the southwest end of the marshes is the Kasanka National Park , which is economically managed and where safaris are offered. Hunting is allowed outside the national park. The Black Letschwe can be found in the Bangweulu Game Management Area .

colonization

The Bangweulus swamps have been inhabited since ancient times because they provided plenty of food. Hunting and farming were equally productive. Famine broke out after a flood disaster in 1998. In the higher areas, the Miombo forest dominates , in the lower areas papyrus and open water areas predominate.

The soil is fertile and there are hills on which you can live dry all year round. There are no roads. The waterways are the only transport routes and are maintained by the locals. For this purpose, dugouts , the so-called banana boats, are available . So they bring their products to Samfya , the central market place of the Bangweulus swamps, from where the goods, especially fish, are transported further into the Copperbelt . This trade is controlled by people from Lusaka . The spread between purchase and sales prices is high.

Web links

Coordinates: 11 ° 10 ′ 0 ″  S , 29 ° 40 ′ 0 ″  E