Conversely, the dry months of May through October are arid, and in comparison to the cooler Ufipa Plateau, the valley is hot.
[8] There are three main flora zones in the Rukwa Valley: the treeless grass plains, a belt of open woodland, and the escarpment area.
[13] Several mutations have been reported in the valley including an albino giraffe and a dark coloured zebra "marked with spots instead of stripes".
[1] In 1939, A. Lea and Dirk van Velden Webb noted a relationship between locusts and the valley's grassland.
The Rukwa is sparsely populated, with an economy revolving around agriculture, cattle keeping and fishing.
Garden crops include beans, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes; bananas, mangoes, lemons, pineapples, sesame, and sugar cane are grown as well.
[9] Human cases of anthrax was noted in 1985 to be a "persistent problem" stemming from cattle consumption.