The Shire is the largest river in

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

. It is the only outlet of

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, () is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is ...

and flows into the

Zambezi The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than half of t ...

River in

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

. Its length is . The upper Shire River issues from Lake Malawi and runs approximately before it enters shallow

Lake Malombe Lake Malombe is a lake in southern part of Malawi. It is located on the Shire River, in the Southern Region around , about south of much larger Lake Malawi. It has an area of about . In recent years the number of fishermen on the lake has risen ...

. It then drains Lake Malombe and flows south through

Liwonde National Park Liwonde National Park, also known as Liwonde Wildlife Reserve, is a national park in southern Malawi, near the Mozambique border. The park was established in 1973, and has been managed by the nonprofit conservation organization African Parks since ...

where large concentrations of hippopotamus are common along its shores. Between the towns of Matope and

Chikwawa Chikwawa is a town with a population of 6,114 according to the 2018 census located in the Southern Region of Malawi on the west bank of the Shire River. It is the administrative capital of the Chikwawa District. Chikwawa lies almost south of B ...

, the middle river drops approximately through a series of falls and gorges, including Kapachira Falls. Two hydroelectric dams have been built along the Shire northwest of

Blantyre Blantyre is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with a population of 800,264 . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Lilongwe. It is ...

. Beyond

, the lower river turns southeast and enters the low-lying Mozambique plain. Its largest and one of its few perennial tributaries, the

Ruo River Ruo River is the largest tributary of the Shire River in southern Malawi and Mozambique. It originates from the Mulanje Massif (Malawi) and forms of the Malawi-Mozambique border. It joins the Shire River at Chiromo. The Ruo River watershed in ...

, joins the Shire near the Malawian town of

Chiromo Chiromo is a town in southern Malawi by the Shire River. Name The Nairobi suburb of Chiromo near Westlands, as well as University of Nairobi Chiromo Campus and Nairobi's Chiromo Road got their name from this town. Ewart Grogan saw the two ri ...

. The muddy waters pass through a large stagnant area known as the

Elephant Marsh Elephant Marsh lies on the flood plain of the Lower Shire River in the African country of Malawi, between the towns of Chikwawa and Nsanje. The marsh varies in size from depending on the flow of the Shire and Ruo rivers and has no permanent bou ...

before reaching the confluence with the

Zambezi River The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than half of t ...

south of the town of

Sena, Mozambique Vila de Sena or more commonly Sena is a town in Mozambique where there is a fundamental bridge over the Zambezi River. This bridge, the Dona Ana Bridge was originally a single track railway bridge, temporarily converted to road operation during t ...

. In 1859,

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, and an explorer in Africa. Livingstone was married to Mary Moffat Livings ...

Second Zambezi expedition The Second Zambezi expedition, from 1858 to 1864, was launched by the Royal Geographical Society of Britain to explore Southeast Africa for mineral deposits and other natural resources. The expedition led to the establishment of the Central Afr ...

traveled up the Shire river. The river's valley is part of the

East African Rift The East African Rift (EAR) or East African Rift System (EARS) is an active continental rift zone in East Africa. The EAR began developing around the onset of the Miocene, 22–25 million years ago. It was formerly considered to be part of a l ...

system.

References

Rivers of Malawi Rivers of Mozambique Lake Malawi Tributaries of the Zambezi River International rivers of Africa Lowest points of countries {{Mozambique-river-stub