Marungu massif
| Marungu highlands | |
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 Marungu highlands
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 2,460 m (8,070 ft) |
| Coordinates | 7°07′54″S 29°41′41″E / 7.131554°S 29.694672°ECoordinates: 7°07′54″S 29°41′41″E / 7.131554°S 29.694672°E |
The Marungu highlands are in the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the west of the southern half of Lake Tanganyika.
The highlands are divided by the Mulobozi River, which flow into the lake just north of Moba port. The northern section reaches an altitude of 2,100 metres (6,900 ft) while the larger southern part reaches 2,460 metres (8,070 ft). Mean annual rainfall is around 1,200 millimetres (47 in), mostly falling between October and April. The soil is relatively low in nutrients.
A sublacustrine swell extends from the Marungu plateau under the southern basin of Lake Tanganyika, subdividing it into the Albertville and Zongwe basins. The Zongwe trough holds the deepest part of the lake, at 1,470 metres (4,820 ft) below the present lake level. Alluvial cones from the rivers that drain the Marungu Plateau are present in the foot of the Zongwe trough, and there are many V-shaped valleys below the lake level. These features indicate that during the Quaternary (2.588 million years ago to the present) the lake level has varied greatly, at times being much lower than is now.
The explorer Henry Morton Stanley noted this feature when he visited the region in his journey of 1874–77. He wrote, "Kirungwé Point appears to be a lofty swelling ridge, cut straight through to an unknown depth. There seems ground for believing that this ridge was once a prolongation of the plateau of Marungu, as the rocks are of the same material, and both sides of the lake show similar results of a sudden subsidence without disturbance of the strata."
The higher parts of the highlands are grassland, with scrub on the slopes and some dense forest in the ravines and remains of riparian forest along the streams. Forest plants include Parinari excelsa, Teclea nobilis, Polyscias fulva, Ficus storthophylla and Turrea holstii in ravines, and Syzygium cordatum, Ficalhoa laurifolia and Ilex mitis by the water.
Hyperolius nasicus is a small, slender tree frog with a markedly pointed snout, a very poorly known member of the controversial Hyperolius nasutus group. It is known only from its type locality in the Marungu highlands at Kasiki, at 2,300 metres (7,500 ft). The greater double-collared sunbird (Cinnyris prigoginei) is found only in the riparian forest of this area. The sunbird is found in only a few areas of riparian forest. It has been recorded from Kasiki, the Lufoko River, Matafali, Pande and Sambwe. It is one of 25 bird species in Zaire (out of 1,086 in total) that were considered threatened in 1990.
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