The coast The coastline extends from 26° 52′ S. to 10° 40′ S., and from south to north makes a double curve with a general trend outward to the east. It has a length of . The southern coastline is characterized by sandy beaches backed by coastal dunes. The dunes can reach up to in height, and older dunes are vegetated. Behind the coastal dunes are lagoons, including river estuaries, closed saline lagoons, and salt lakes. Some north of the
South African frontier is the deep indentation of
Maputo Bay (formerly Delagoa Bay). The land then turns outward to
Cape Correntes, a little north of which is
Inhambane Bay. Bending westward again and passing the
Bazaruto Archipelago of several small islands, of which the chief is
Bazaruto. Mozambique's central coast, from Bazaruto Island north to
Angoche Island, is known as the
Bight of Sofala or Sofala Bay. It is also known as the Swamp Coast, and is characterized by extensive mangrove swamps and coastal wetlands. As in the south, the coastline is generally low, and harbours are few and poor.
Beira is the principal seaport on the central coast, with rail and highway links to the interior. The bay has an area of . The continental shelf is up to wide at Beira, and is Mozambique's most important marine fishery. Several large rivers, including the
Save,
Pungwe, and
Zambezi, create coastal estuaries and
river deltas, of which the Zambezi delta is the largest. Along the northern coast the
Mozambique Current, which flows south between
Madagascar and the continent is close to the coast and scours out all the softer material, while at the same time the
corals are building in deep waters. A recent global remote sensing analysis suggested that there were 2,029km² of tidal flats in Mozambique, making it the 16th ranked country in terms of how much tidal flat occurs there.
Orography Orographically the backbone of the country is the mountain chain which forms the eastern escarpment of the continental plateau. It does not present a uniformly abrupt descent to the plains, but in places, as in the lower Zambezi district, slopes gradually to the coast. The
Lebombo Mountains, behind Delagoa Bay, nowhere exceed in height. The
Manica Plateau, farther north between the Save and Zambezi rivers, is higher, rising towards the
Eastern Highlands along the border with
Zimbabwe.
Monte Binga (), on the border with Zimbabwe, is Mozambique's highest peak.
Mount Gorongosa () lies north-east of the Manica Plateau, and is, like it, of granitic formation. Gorongosa, rising isolated with precipitous outer slopes, has been likened in its aspect to a frowning citadel. East of Gorongosa a
graben valley extends from the Zambezi to Pungwe Bay, the southern extension of the
African Rift Valley. The
Cheringoma Plateau lies east of the graben, sloping gently towards the coast. The chief mountain range lies north of the Zambezi, and east of
Lake Chilwa, namely, the
Namuli Mountains, in which Namuli Peak rises to , and Molisani, Mruli and Mresi attain altitudes of These mountains are covered with magnificent forests. Farther north the river basins are divided by well-marked ranges with heights of and over. Near the south-east shore of
Lake Malawi there is a high range () with an abrupt descent to the lake — some in . The country between Malawi and Ibo is remarkable for the number of fantastically shaped granite peaks, or
inselbergs, which rise from the plateau. The plateau lands west of the escarpment are of moderate elevation — perhaps averaging . It is, however, only along the Zambezi and north of that river that Mozambique's territory reaches to the continental plateau. This northern plain has been categorised by the
World Wildlife Fund as part of the
Eastern miombo woodlands ecoregion.
Rivers Besides the Zambezi, the most considerable river in Mozambique is the
Limpopo which enters the
Indian Ocean about north of Maputo Bay. The other Mozambican rivers with considerable drainage areas are the
Komati,
Save,
Buzi, and
Pungwe south of the Zambezi, and the
Licungo (Likungo),
Ligonha,
Lúrio,
Montepuez (Montepuesi or Mtepwesi),
Messalo (or Msalu), and
Ruvuma (or Rovuma) with its affluent the
Lugenda (or Lujenda), north of the Zambezi. The
Save (or Sabi) rises in
Zimbabwe at an elevation of over , and after flowing south for over turns east and pierces the mountains some from the coast, being joined near the Zimbabwe-Mozambique frontier by the Lundi. Cataracts entirely prevent navigation above this point. Below the Lundi confluence the bed of the Save becomes considerably broader, varying from . In the rainy season the Save is a large stream and even in the "dries" it can be navigated from its mouth by shallow draught steamers for over . Its general direction through Mozambique is east by north. At its mouth it forms a delta in extent. The
Buzi () and
Pungwe () are streams north of and similar in character to the Save. They both rise in the
Manica Highlands and enter the ocean in a large estuary, their mouths apart. The lower reaches of both streams are navigable, the Buzi for , the Pungwe for about . The port of
Beira is at the mouth of the Pungwe. Of the north-Zambezi streams the
Licungo, rising in the hills south-east of Lake Chilwa, flows south and enters the ocean not far north of
Quelimane. The Lúrio, rising in the Namuli Mountains, flows north-east, having a course of some . The Montepurez and the Messalo drain the country between the Lúrio and Ruvuma basins. Their banks are in general well-defined and the wet season rise seems fairly constant.
Somali Plate Geologists have divided the Phanerozoic era of
Mozambique's geology into the Karoo and post-Karoo era. This terminology is mostly used pertaining to studies of the structural and stratigraphic composition of rocks in the Zambezi valley. Mozambique entirely lies within the
Somali Plate. == Climate ==