Songwe (Lake Malawi)
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Songwe Ssongwe |
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 The Songwe (top left) |
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| Data | ||
| location |
 Tanzania Malawi
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| River system | Zambezi | |
| Drain over | Lake Malawi → Shire → Zambezi → Indian Ocean | |
| muzzle | in Lake Malawi coordinates: 9 ° 43 ′ 9 ″ S , 33 ° 56 ′ 21 ″ E 9 ° 43 ′ 9 ″ S , 33 ° 56 ′ 21 ″ E |
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| Mouth height |
477 m
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| length | 200 km | |
| Catchment area | 4278 km² | |
The Songwe is the border river between Tanzania and Malawi .
course
It rises in the west of the rain-rich Poroto Mountains and flows into Lake Malawi . The Songwe Bridge, built in 1988, is a vehicle border crossing north of Karonga near Kaporo village. The long Songwe Gorge in the lower middle reaches is impassable. The river is 200 km long and abundant in water with frequent floods.
politics
The Songwe, especially its meandering lower reaches in the estuary, is a constant political issue between Tanzania and Malawi, because in every rainy season in the densely populated plain by the lake it agreed its bed, i.e. its valley path and thus the 1890 and 1901 between Germany and Great Britain Shifted border. The estuary is considered to be very fertile because of the alluvial land, several months a year it is under water.
In the meantime, the construction of dams, an irrigation concept and a hydroelectric power station have been decided.
fishing
Another problem is the fish stocks in Songwe, which have long been overfished. The input of substances into the waters from soil erosion on the mountain slopes also affects the fish population and turns the river water brown.
According to the FAO, the rivers Bua , Dwangwa , Lilongwe , Lufira , Northern Rukuru , Songwe and Southern Rukuru together have a fishing potential of 15,000 t per year. Between 4,000 and 17,000 t are actually caught.
Miscellaneous
There is also a Bach Songwe in Zambia , a small tributary of the Zambezi in the area around the city of Livingstone .