Maputaland is a
natural region
A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate.
From the ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and ...
of
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...
. It is located in the northern part of the province of
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
between
Eswatini
Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...
and the coast. In a wider sense it may also include the southernmost region of
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 ...
. The bird routes and
coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...
s off the coast are major tourist attractions.
Now the name of this traditional region is being revived for the
Maputaland-Pondoland bushland and thickets, one of the
ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...
s of South Africa, as well as for the
Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot.
Geography
Maputaland is bordered by the
Ubombo Mountains in the west and the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
in the east. It covers an area of about 10,000 km
2, stretching approximately from the town of
Hluhluwe and the northern section of
Lake St. Lucia to the border of Mozambique and South Africa, or beyond to
Maputo
Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...
in Mozambique.
Tongaland
The South African section of Maputaland was also previously known as
Tongaland after the
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
people who live there. The usually flat region feeds the
Phongolo and
Mkhuze River.
On 11 June 1895, Tongaland was annexed by
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
.
'Tongaland', the name of the traditional region of the Tsonga, has now largely fallen into disuse. It is still occasionally found in scientific works though,
Turtle Beaches and Coral Reefs of Tongaland
as well as in the naming of species, such as the Tongaland cannibal snail ''(Natalina wesseliana)''.
See also
*
*
*
*
References
Bibliography
* Elephant Coast Visitor Guide, (2007/8).
* Pooley, E. (1993). ''The Complete Field Guide to Trees of Natal, Zululand and Transkei''.
External links
Maputaland-Pondoland bushland and thickets
{{Regions of Africa
Regions of Africa
Natural regions of South Africa
Geography of KwaZulu-Natal
Geography of Mozambique