Geography and Environment of Zambia

Zambia, in central southern Africa, is mostly a high plateau, 3,000 to 5,000 feet above sea level. Lusaka is one of the higher points in the country at 4200 ft. The highest point is Mwanda Peak at 7045ft on the border with Malawi. There are four major valleys: the Zambezi, the Kafue, the Luangwa and the Luapula. Zambia has several large lakes: man-made Kariba in the South, lakes Tanganyika and Mweru in the North, and Lake Bangweulu in the interior. Zambia is landlocked and has borders with Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The protruding southeastern area of the DRC nearly bisects Zambia into two major geographic areas. The 90 mile-long corridor in the region known as the Copperbelt contains some of the world’s largest proven copper deposits. There are nine provinces: Central, Copperbelt, Eastern, Luapula, Lusaka, Northern, North-Western, Southern and Western. The provinces are subdivided into a total of 72 districts.

Detailed geography