Зимбабве мен Мозамбик шекарасындағы Таулы аймақтар

Mountain range in Zimbabwe and Mozambique

"Eastern Highlands" also refers to Eastern Highlands Province in Papua New Guinea, and part of the Great Dividing Range, Australia. The Eastern Highlands, also known as the Manica Highlands, is a mountain range on the border of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The Eastern Highlands extend north and south for about through Zimbabwe's Manicaland Province and Mozambique's Manica Province. The Highlands are home to the Eastern Zimbabwe montane forest grassland mosaic ecoregion. The ecoregion includes the portion of the highlands above 1000 meters elevation, including the Inyangani Mountains, Bvumba Mountains, Chimanimani Mountains, Chipinge Uplands, and the isolated Mount Gorongosa further east in Mozambique. The Southern miombo woodlands ecoregion lies at lower elevations east and west of the highlands. The Chimanimani Mountains lie south of the Mussapa Pequeno River, which divides them from the Tandara plateau. The Chimanimani range consists of a high plateau with several ridges running north and south. Monte Binga on the border is the highest peak in Mozambique and the second highest in Zimbabwe. Mussapa Gap is a pass through the mountains that follows the eastward flowing Mussapa Grande River and westward flowing Nyanyadzi River. Mussapa Gap was an important trade and migration route through the highlands for centuries. The Eastern Highlands are part of the East African Highlands, one of four distinct physiographic divisions on the African continent. The East African Highlands physiographic division consists of the East African Rift and Abyssinian physiographic provinces, part of the long chain of mountains that runs down East Africa. The mountains and mountain ranges that make up the East African Highlands share many common plant and animal species and communities, known as Afromontane flora and fauna.

The Highlands have a more equable climate than Zimbabwe's central plateau, with higher rainfall, low cloud and heavy mists and dew as moisture moves inland from the Indian Ocean. Many streams and rivers originate in these mountains. The northern portion is drained by tributaries of the Zambezi River, while the southern portion is drained by tributaries of the Save River. The eastern slope is drained by Mozambique's Buzi and Pungwe rivers.

Much of the small area consists of rolling hills covered with grassland, which are renewed annually following the fires that occur at the end of the dry season. At lower elevations, Themeda triandra is the predominant grass on the more fertile red soils, and Loudetia simplex is common on less fertile white sandy soils. At higher elevations are montane grasslands made up mostly of short, tufted grasses, including Loudetia simplex, Trachypogon spicatus, Exotheca abyssinica, and Monocymbium ceresiiforme. The highlands are also rich in birdlife including trumpeter hornbill (Bycanistes bucinator), Knysna turaco (Tauraco corythaix), purple crested turaco (Tauraco porphyreolophus), crested guineafowl (Guttera pucherani) and crowned eagle (Stephanoaetus coronatus). Two species, the Chirinda apalis (Apalis chirindensis) and Roberts's warbler (Oreophilais robertsi), are endemic to the Eastern Highlands. The Chirinda apalis lives deep in the evergreen forests, while Roberts's warbler inhabits the forest edge. The highlands' cool, high altitude, rapidly flowing streams create aquatic habitats distinct from the surrounding lowlands, and the highlands are home to several endemic species. Four species of fish – Labeo baldasseronii, Amarginops hildae, Varicorhinus pungweensis, and Parakneria mossambica – are endemic to the highlands.

The mountain forests are vulnerable to logging and the grasslands susceptible to fire and the rainforests, which by definition grow on well watered fertile land, to clearance for agriculture. The moist climate is ideal for planting tea, coffee and hardwoods. However, much of the original vegetation remains, especially at higher altitudes, which are not suitable for farming. Large areas of the highlands are protected, including Nyanga National Park in the Nyanga Mountains, Bunga Forest Botanical Reserve in the Bvumba Mountains, and Zimbabwe's 171 km2 Chimanimani National Park and Mozambique's Chimanimani National Reserve in the Chimanimani Mountains. The Chimanimani park and reserve together form the core of the Chimanimani Transfrontier Conservation Area.