Songwe (region)

Songwe
Basic data
Country	Tanzania
Capital	Vwawa
surface	27,656 km²
Residents	998,862 (2012)
density	36 inhabitants per km²
ISO 3166-2	TZ-31

Coordinates: 8 ° 30 ′  S , 32 ° 30 ′  E

Songwe is one of the 31 regions in Tanzania . The capital is Vwawa . The Songwe region borders Zambia and Malawi in the south . Songwe also borders the Tanzanian regions of Rukwa and Katavi in the west, Tabora in the north and Mbeya in the east.

The Rukwasee

geography

The region has an area of ​​27,656 km² and around one million inhabitants (as of 2012). The population density is 36 inhabitants per square kilometer. In the north of Songwe, the Rukwasee lies at an altitude of 800 meters above sea level. From here, the East African Rift runs through the region to the southeast. In the valley it is hot from the beginning of September to the end of April, and cooler from May to the end of August. The average temperature is 25 degrees Celsius. It is cooler in the highlands in the south, where the capital Vwawa is also located at 1602 meters above sea level. Here and in the surrounding districts, the temperature is 20 degrees with an average of 1200 millimeters of precipitation per year.

Climate table Vwawa Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 24.4 24.8 24.7 24.5 24.1 23.7 23.4 24.6 26.7 28.4 27.7 25.5 O 25.2 Min. Temperature (° C) 15.5 15.7 15.6 15.3 13.5 12.3 11.6 12.6 13.6 15.1 15.4 15.3 O 14.3 Temperature (° C) 19.9 20.2 20.1 19.9 18.8 18th 17.5 18.6 20.1 21.7 21.5 20.4 O 19.7 Precipitation ( mm ) 219 216 234 159 33 3 1 1 6th 33 102 210 Σ 1,217 Source: climate-data.org

history

Songwe region was established on January 29, 2016 from the western parts of Mbeya region.

Administrative division

The region is administratively divided into four districts and the city of Tunduma . These are:

• Tunduma (city)
• Ileje
• Mbozi
• Momba
• Songwe

The districts are divided into 94 parishes (wards), in them there are 307 villages (as of 2018).

population

The majority of the population lives in rural areas, only 21 percent live in cities. Forty-six percent of the region's population are under 15 years of age, and only 3 percent are over 65. The largest ethnic groups in Songwe are the Nyiha , Nyamwanga , Bungu and Ndali .

Economy and Infrastructure The main industries in the Songwe region are agriculture and fishing. Agriculture Because of the sufficient rainfall, the staple foods maize, rice and millet, potatoes, vegetables and fruit can be grown on 400,000 hectares in the region. Coffee, tobacco, onions and sunflowers are also planted on an additional 134,000 hectares for sale. In addition to agriculture, livestock farming is also important. The region not only produces enough meat for its own needs, but also exports animals to other regions. Mainly chickens, cattle and goats are kept.

Mining

Gold has been mined in Songwe District since 2012. The Shanta Gold company produced almost 2.5 tons of gold in 2016.

fishing

Fishing is mainly carried out in the Rukwasee. 103 tons of fish were caught in the 2016/2017 season.

Songwe airport

Infrastructure

• Railway: The TAZARA railway line runs through the region and has a train station in Vwawa before it goes to Zambia via Tunduma .
• Road: The T1 national road, which connects Dar es Salaam with Zambia, runs through the south of the region . At the border town of Tunduma, the T9 national road branches off to the northwest to Mpanda .
• Airport: There are direct flights to Dar es Salaam from Songwe Airport.

Mbozi meteorite

Nature reserves, sights

• Uwanda Game Reserve: The 4100 square kilometer reserve was established in 1974. It lies on the border with the Rukwa region and includes large parts of the Rukwa Lake, where many crocodiles live. On the shore you can find antelopes, giraffes and elephants, but above all over 400 species of birds.
• Mbozi Meteorite : The 3 meter long, 1 meter high and 25 ton heavy meteorite is one of the largest meteorites found on Earth to date. The site is located 12 kilometers east of the capital Vwawa and has long been known to the residents. It was officially discovered in 1930.

Web links

• Songwe Regional Website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Statistics | SONGWE REGION. Retrieved December 28, 2019 . 
2. ↑ Lake Rukwa | lake, Tanzania. Encyclopaedia Britannica, accessed December 28, 2019 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b c d} History | SONGWE REGION. Retrieved December 28, 2019 . 
4. ^ Vwawa climate: Average Temperature, weather by month, Vwawa weather averages - Climate-Data.org. Retrieved December 28, 2019 . 
5. ^ Tanzania Regional Profiles, 12 Mbeya Regional Profiles. (pdf) The United Republic of Tanzania, 2016, p. 0 , accessed December 28, 2019 . 
6. ↑ Agriculture | SONGWE REGION. Retrieved December 28, 2019 (Swahili). 
7. ↑ Stockbreeding | SONGWE REGION. Retrieved December 28, 2019 (Swahili). 
8. ↑ Shanta Gold - New Luika Gold Mine. Retrieved May 14, 2020 . 
9. ↑ 2016 Annual Report and Accounts. Shanta Gold, p. 3 , accessed May 14, 2020 . 
10. ↑ fishing | SONGWE REGION. Retrieved December 29, 2019 (Swahili). 
11. ^ Passenger Train Fares-Tanzania | TAZARA. Retrieved December 28, 2019 . 
12. ^ Tanzania Trunk Road Network. (jpg) Retrieved December 28, 2019 . 
13. ↑ Flightradar24: Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map. Retrieved December 28, 2019 . 
14. ↑ Uwanda Game Reserve -. December 6, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2019 (American English). 
15. ↑ Mbozi Meteorite | Southern Highlands, Tanzania Southern Highlands. Retrieved December 29, 2019 . 
16. ^ Mbozi Meteorite - Tanzania Tourism. Retrieved December 29, 2019 . 
17. ↑ Vwawa to Mbozi Meteorite / Kimondo cha Mbozi. Retrieved December 29, 2019 (de-US).