Mount Nyangani: Difference between revisions

| other_name = formerlyMount Inyangani

'''Mount Nyangani''' (formerly '''Mount Inyangani''') is the highest mountain in [[Zimbabwe]] at {{convert|2,592 |m (8,504&nbsp;|ft)|0|disp=or}}. The mountain is located within [[Nyanga National Park]] in [[Nyanga District]], is about {{convert|275110|km|mi|abbr=on}} south eastnorth-northeast of [[HarareMutare]]. The summit lies atop a small outcrop of rock around 40m{{convert|40|m|ft|-1|disp=or}} above the surrounding area. The remainder of the peak is a broad moor of mainly rolling hills and plateau with an area of about 8&nbsp;km². The edges of this plateau then fall steeply to the east and west sides. The mountain vegetation is largely composed of heath around the summit plateau with evergereenevergreen forest along the wetter eastern slopes and grassland to the western side. Annual rainfall totals are high (around {{convert|2200&nbsp;|mm|in|0|disp=or}}) but long spells of dry weather occur during the winter period of May to August. Due to its relatively low altitude and tropical location, snowsnowfall fallsis very rarelyrare, last recorded in August 1935.<ref>[http://www.worldclimate.com/sources.htm GHCN] Climate data, Temperature and Precipitation profiles, Inyanga and Inyanga Downs, 1902-1989</ref>

The mountain is composed of an upper [[Sill (geology)|sill]] of [[dolerite]] and [[sandstone]], with the harder dolerite forming cliffs and ridges. The dolerite sill and the sediments underlying it are probably part of the Umkondo Group.<ref>{{cite web|author=Love, D.|date=February 2002|title=The geology of Nyangani Mountain: a preliminary report |publisher=[[University of Zimbabwe]] Earth Science Research Seminar Series |url=http://www.uz.ac.zw/science/geology/davidlove/Nyangani-prelim%20abs.pdf |archiveurl=httphttps://web.archive.org/web/20070926224746/http://www.uz.ac.zw/science/geology/davidlove/Nyangani-prelim%20abs.pdf |archivedate=2007-09-26 |accessdate=2011-08-20}}</ref> The Umkondo Group dolerite sill north of Nyangani, on the Kwaraguza Road, has been [[Radiometric dating|dated]] at 1099 Ma <ref>{{cite journal|author=Wingate, M.T.D.|year=2001|title=SHRIMP baddeleyite and zircon ages for an Umkondo dolerite sill, Nyanga Mountains, eastern Zimbabwe|journal=[[South African Journal of Geology]]|volume=104|pages=13–22|url=http://sajg.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/104/1/13|accessdate=2009-02-06|doi=10.2113/104.1.13|issue=1}}</ref>

==Mountain Hikeshikes==

[[Image:nyangani from nyamuziwa source.jpg|400pxupright=1.3|thumb|left|Mount Nyangani from the west. The falls in the middle ground are on the upper Nyamuziwa River and the Tourist Path ascends to their right. The start of the Tourist Path is in the lower right of the picture. The route from the Mountain Club of Zimbabwe hut is on the far side of the skyline ridge on the left of the picture.]]

The peak can be reached within 1–3 hours by anyone of average fitness. This ascent brings the hiker to an altitude of about 2200m{{convert|2200|m|ft|-1|disp=or}} and the remainder is mostly walking across the gentler gradients of the summit plateau. The hazards here are produced by bewilderingly fast weather changes that can switch from sunny skies to thick fog, and under these conditions several fatalities have occurred due to hikers losing their way and falling down ravines. There are three ascents that follow paths:

The above are all walks or scrambles, without rock climbing involved. However, caution is advised, especially on unmarked routes, as the weather may change very rapidly: descent of cloud can result in visibility of less than {{convert|50 |m|ft|-1|disp=or}}. This may well be the cause for a number of disappearances on the mountain, such as that of two teenage children of the then Minister of Finance, Tichaendepi Masaya.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mount Nyangani|url=http://www.mauya.co.zw/index.php?view=article&id=60:magazine&option=com_content&Itemid=67|accessdate=2009-12-30}}</ref>

==Rivers and Waterfallswaterfalls==

[[Image:nyama falls.jpg|400px|thumb|rightupright=1.3|Nyama Falls.]]

Three rivers have their sources on Mount Nyangani: the Nyamuziwa River, the (Kairezi) ([[Gairezi) River]] and the [[Pungwe River]]. The first two are tributaries of the Mazowe River, which is itself a tributary of the [[Zambezi River]].

The Nyama River, a tributary of the Kayirezi, falls off the main plateau in a waterfall on the northeast of the mountain and the KaireziGairezi Falls are located on the east edge of the main plateau.

* The clawless [[African clawless otter|clawless otter]] is common in the upper KaireziGairezi River, near the mountain <ref>{{cite journal|authorauthor1=Butler, J.R.A. and |author2=Marshall, B. |name-list-style=amp |year=1996|title=Resource Use Within the Crab-Eating Guild of the Upper Kairezi River, Zimbabwe|volume=12|pages=475–490|issn=0266-4674|issue=4|doi=10.1017/S0266467400009718|journal=Journal of Tropical Ecology|jstor=2560302}}</ref>

[[Iron Age]] ruins have been found on Little Nyangani and on a hill west of the summit, the latter better-preserved,<ref>{{cite book|author=Garlake, P.S.|year=1965|title=A guide to the antiquities of Inyanga|publisher=Historical Monuments Commission of Rhodesia|asin=B0007JZPWM}}</ref> but not on the summit plateau itself.

The film ''Mysteries of Mount Inyangani'' looks at some of the mysteries and myths about the mountain.<ref>{{Cite video| people = Ingrid Sinclair, Joel Phiri| title = Mysteries of Mount Inyangani| url = http://www.africanmedia.msu.edu/php/showfilm.php?id=24181| mediumlocation = Zimbabwe| publisherdate = 1999| locationurl-status = Zimbabwedead| datearchiveurl =1999 https://web.archive.org/web/20110720004955/http://www.africanmedia.msu.edu/php/showfilm.php?id=24181| archivedate = 2011-07-20}}</ref>