Chipinge District is a district in Manicaland Province of

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. The administrative headquarters is Chipinge.

Geography

Chipinge District is the southernmost district in Manicaland province. It is bounded on the north by

Chimanimani District Chimanimani District (part of which was known as Melsetter 1895–1982) is a mountainous district in Manicaland Province of eastern Zimbabwe. The district headquarters is the town of Chimanimani. Geography The district has an area of 3,450 ...

, on the west by

Masvingo Province Masvingo is a province in southeastern Zimbabwe. It has a population of 1.485 million as of the 2012 census, ranking fifth out of Zimbabwe's ten provinces. Established as Victoria Province by the British South Africa Company, it was one of the ...

, and on the east by

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Mala ...

. The Save River forms the western boundary of the District, and drains the western and southern portions of district. The northeastern portion of the district is drained by the Buzi River and its headwater tributaries. The southern end of the

Eastern Highlands :''"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 Zimbab ...

reach into the northern portion of the district. Mount Selinda (1,230 meters) lies near the Mozambican border.

Townships and villages

* Craigmore * Chibuwe * Chipinge * Chisumbanje * Checheche * Junction Gate * Mkasa * Rupisi

People

The rural portion of Chipinge District has a population of 324,133. The rural population is 298,841, and the urban population, which consists of Chipinge town, is 25,292 (2012 census). Ndau people, a sub group of the

Shona people The Shona people () are part of the Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa, primarily living in Zimbabwe where they form the majority of the population, as well as Mozambique, South Africa, and a worldwide diaspora including g ...

, inhabit the north and central portions of the district.

Tswa people Tswa (''Xitswa'') is a South-Eastern Bantu language in Southern Mozambique. Its closest relatives are Ronga and Tsonga, the three forming the Tswa–Ronga family of languages. Tswa is mainly spoken in the rural areas west of Inhambane. Its larg ...

live in the south.

Transport

The A10 road runs through the district, running southwards from Chimanimani District, then jogging west to the Save River. Here it meets the A16 road, which runs south along the Save from Birchenough Bridge. From the A16 junction the A10 follows the Save southwards, crossing westwards over the Save River at Rupangwana via the

Jack Quinton Bridge Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, i ...

. Where the A10 turns west, a road branches south to Chipinge, and continues southeast to cross the Mozambican border between Mount Selinda and

Espungabera Espungabera is a township in the Mossurize District of Manica Province in central Mozambique. It is situated from a border post with Zimbabwe, which is open daily from 8:00 to 17:00 or 18:00. Espungabera has 3 fuel stations but supplies can run out ...

in Mozambique.

Chipinge Airport Chipinge Airport is an airport serving Chipinge, Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe. See also *Transport in Zimbabwe *List of airports in Zimbabwe This is a list of airports in Zimbabwe, sorted by location. Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of ...

is near the town of Chipinge.

Administration

The District has 31 rural administrative wards, and eight urban wards in Chipinge town. The district is divided into five

Assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

parliamentary constituencies:

Chipinge Central Chipinge Central is a constituency in Zimbabwe. As of 2008, it elects one representative to the House of Assembly. In the parliamentary election the seat was won by the ZANU-PF candidate Chitima Alice Mwaemura defeating the MDC candidate from the ...

, Chipinge East,

Chipinge South Chipinge South is a constituency in southeastern Zimbabwe in the province of Manicaland near the Mozambique border. It is named after Chipinge town. Chipinge is one of the constituencies, where the ZANU–PF The Zimbabwe African National Un ...

, Chipinge West, and Musikavanhu. The district is a single

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

constituency.

Ecology

Miombo woodland The Miombo woodland is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome (in the World Wide Fund for Nature scheme) located primarily in Central Africa. It includes four woodland savanna ecoregions (listed below) characterized b ...

is the predominant vegetation in the northern, central, and northeastern portions of the district.

Mopane woodland ''Colophospermum mopane'', commonly called mopane, mopani, balsam tree, butterfly tree, or turpentine tree, is a tree in the legume family (Fabaceae), that grows in hot, dry, low-lying areas, in elevation, in the far northern parts of southern A ...

occurs in the Save River lowlands in the west and south of the district. Pockets of mid-elevation evergreen forest occur on a few eastward-facing mountain slopes in the district, where the mountains create orographic precipitation from winds coming from the Indian Ocean.

Protected areas

Chipinge Safari Area (261 km²) is located in the highlands west of Chipinge, overlooking the Save River Valley. It includes both miombo and mopane woodland.Gobiye Felix (2015). "Proposal for Additional Game Species in Chipinge Safari Area". Zimbabwe Parks and Management Authority, January 2015.

Chirinda Forest Botanical Reserve The Chirinda Forest Botanical Reserve is situated on the slopes of Mount Selinda, south of Chipinge, in the Chipinge Highlands of Manicaland, Zimbabwe, and is administered by the Forestry Commission. The reserve is situated at between in al ...

protects an enclave of evergreen forest on the slopes of Mount Selinda.

References

{{Authority control Districts of Manicaland Province