Chimanimani Mountains
[1] Much of the range is composed of quartzite ridges running north and south, with Monte Binga (2,436 m) as the highest point.
[1] The mountains are drained by tributaries of the Buzi River, including the Rusitu (called the Lucite in Mozambique) and the Mussapa.
The mountains rise out of the low Mozambican plain, and the eastward-facing slopes intercept moisture-laden winds from the Indian Ocean, creating much orographic precipitation.
The western slopes on the Zimbabwean side of the range are in the mountains' rain shadow, and generally drier.
Montane plant communities (generally above 1000 meters elevation) include grassland, scrub (shrublands), woodland, forest, and lithophytic vegetation.
It is characterized by shrubs in the heath family Ericaceae, including Erica hexandra, E. simii, E. pleiotricha, E. johnstonii, and E. lanceolifera.
Mzhenje (Uapaca kirkiana) woodland is found on east-facing slopes below 1200 meters elevation, typically on schist-derived soils.
At lower elevations the trees grow higher and closer, and Uapaca kirkiana and Faurea saligna accompany msasa.
Montane forests occur in scattered patches, typically in sheltered areas with access to year-round moisture.
Common forest trees include Neocussonia umbellifera, Ilex mitis, Macaranga mellifera, Maesa lanceolata, Morella pilulifera, Podocarpus milanjianus, and Syzygium cordatum.
The transitional forests include the large shrubs and small trees Erica mannii, Englerophytum magalismontanum, Rapanea melanophloeos, and Myrsine africana.
Groves of the large banana-like shrub Strelitzia caudata and the tree fern Cyathea capensis grow in sheltered stream-side locales surrounded by more open vegetation.
In the early 19th century, Nguni-speaking people left what is now South Africa to settle in the Save River valley.
The Nguni leader Soshangane founded the Gaza Empire, which subjugated the area from the Limpopo to the Zambezi rivers, including the local Ndau people.
In 1953, the colonial government of Mozambique gazetted the forest reserves of Maronga, Zomba, and Moribane on the mountains' southeastern slope.
Southern Rhodesia's forestry department and private companies created extensive plantations of pine, wattle, and Eucalyptus in the mountains and valleys west of the National Park boundary.
The Mozambican colonial government established sawmills and timber concessions in the lower-elevation forests and dense woodlands southeast of the mountains.
