Malawi is one of Africa’s smaller countries, a little over 45,000 square miles (117 000 sq km), of which about 20 per cent is occupied by Lake Malawi – Africa’s third biggest lake. Much of the country lies within the great Rift Valley of eastern Africa, with Tanzania to the north, Zambia to the west and Mozambique to the east and south. Malawi’s northern boundary comes within nine degrees of the equator. The country stretches southwards to 17°S.
The Rift Valley floor at the lakeshore is almost at sea level but the bordering plateau rises to between 1600ft (490m) and 5000ft (1500m). The highest peaks in Malawi touch 10,000ft (3000m) while the Lower Shire Valley (pronounced Shiray) in the south is at a meagre 500 ft (150m). These great contrasts help to make the landscape of Malawi one the most varied in all Africa. The scenery, including its cloak of vegetation, presents an ever-changing vista.
Wording courtesy of Malawi Tourism Association