Viphya Mountains

Viphya Mountains, highlands in north-central Malawi. They comprise two main blocks, divided by a 15-mile- (24-km-) wide saddle (pass), and extend 130 miles (209 km) from Mount Champhila (5,971 feet [1,820 metres]) in the south to Mount Uzumara (6,375 feet [1,943 metres]) in the north-northeast. They overlook the Mzimba Plain (west) and form a sheer wall of the Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) rift valley (east). The general elevation of 5,000–6,000 feet (1,500–1,800 metres) is interrupted by the saddle (4,000 feet [1,200 metres]), consisting of parallel rift faults in the west and rugged dissected terrain in the east. The undulating plateau surface is covered with grassland, patches of primary forest, and residual hills. The montane streams are sources of the Luweya and Limphasa rivers (flowing to Lake Nyasa) and the Kasitu River (flowing to the South Rukuru River). As a result of afforestation with softwood trees, a pulpwood industry has developed. Northern Viphya is used for military training, and southern Viphya supports extensive pine plantations. The city of Mzuzu, located in the saddle on the road from Nkhata Bay to the inland plateau, is an administrative and service centre and the site of Mzuzu University (founded 1999).