Mongu

The town's original name was mungu, a Lozi word in reference to a growth and production of pumpkins. Mongu was the capital of Barotseland under the Lozi kings from the 18th century until 1911. Under British rule, it was declared a district under the name Mongu-Lealui by Hubert Winthrop Young, the Governor of Northern Rhodesia. Following Zambia's independence in 1964, Mongu was established as a rural council and upgraded to its status of District Council in 1980. Today Mongu remains a predominantly rural urban community with the majority of business found in agronomy. ==Geography==

Mongu is situated on a small blunt promontory of higher ground on the eastern edge of the 30-kilometre-wide Barotse Floodplain of the Zambezi River running north–south, which in the wet season floods right up to the town. The city is 15 kilometres from the river's main channel, to which its small harbour is connected in the dry season by a 35-kilometre route via a canal and a meandering channel. The whole region is flat and sandy, with the dry land generally no more than 50 m higher than the floodplain. ==Demographics==

Mongu is the home city of the Lozi (or Barotse) people, who speak a language derived in part from that of the Makololo, related to the South African Sesotho language. The Lozi ruler, the Litunga, has a dry season palace 12 km north-west at Lealui on the floodplain, and a flood season palace on higher ground at Limulunga, 17 km north. The Kuomboka ceremony marks the court's transfer between the two locations. At the end of the 18th century, a significant number of Mbunda from Angola settled here. ==Climate==

Mongu has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw). The area has an annual average rainfall of 945 mm falling in the rainy season from late October to April. The flood usually arrives by January, peaks in April and is gone by June, leaving a floodplain green with new grass on which a population of about 250,000 moves in to graze a similar number of cattle, catch fish and raise crops in small gardens. Mongu is hot from September to December, with a mean maximum for October of 35.4 °C, and cool from May to August, with a mean maximum in June of 26.9 °C and a mean minimum of 10.3 °C. {{Weather box | width = auto | collapsed = | metric first = yes | single line = yes | location = Mongu (1991–2020) | Jan record high C = 39.0 | Feb record high C = 36.9 | Mar record high C = 38.2 | Apr record high C = 39.0 | May record high C = 34.7 | Jun record high C = 33.8 | Jul record high C = 35.5 | Aug record high C = 40.5 | Sep record high C = 41.5 | Oct record high C = 41.5 | Nov record high C = 39.8 | Dec record high C = 38.0 | year record high C = | Jan high C = 29.8 | Feb high C = 29.7 | Mar high C = 30.2 | Apr high C = 30.9 | May high C = 29.6 | Jun high C = 27.8 | Jul high C = 27.9 | Aug high C = 31.1 | Sep high C = 34.7 | Oct high C = 35.6 | Nov high C = 32.5 | Dec high C = 30.3 | year high C = 30.8 | Jan mean C = 24.7 | Feb mean C = 24.6 | Mar mean C = 24.7 | Apr mean C = 23.9 | May mean C = 21.7 | Jun mean C = 19.3 | Jul mean C = 19.1 | Aug mean C = 22.1 | Sep mean C = 25.9 | Oct mean C = 27.5 | Nov mean C = 26.0 | Dec mean C = 24.8 | year mean C = 23.7 | Jan low C = 19.5 | Feb low C = 19.5 | Mar low C = 19.2 | Apr low C = 16.9 | May low C = 13.7 | Jun low C = 10.7 | Jul low C = 10.2 | Aug low C = 13.1 | Sep low C = 17.0 | Oct low C = 19.4 | Nov low C = 19.4 | Dec low C = 19.3 | year low C = 16.5 | Jan record low C = 12.9 | Feb record low C = 11.5 | Mar record low C = 9.1 | Apr record low C = 7.5 | May record low C = 2.7 | Jun record low C = -1.6 | Jul record low C = 0.3 | Aug record low C = -1.6 | Sep record low C = 7.4 | Oct record low C = 9.2 | Nov record low C = 11.1 | Dec record low C = 13.8 | year record low C = | precipitation colour = green | Jan precipitation mm = 229.3 | Feb precipitation mm = 210.8 | Mar precipitation mm = 141.0 | Apr precipitation mm = 29.8 | May precipitation mm = 5.1 | Jun precipitation mm = 0.3 | Jul precipitation mm = 0.0 | Aug precipitation mm = 0.0 | Sep precipitation mm = 2.1 | Oct precipitation mm = 20.3 | Nov precipitation mm = 95.1 | Dec precipitation mm = 227.7 | year precipitation mm = 965.7 | source 1 = NOAA (humidity, sun 1961–1990) ==Ecology==

Three ecoregions are represented in Mongu and its vicinity: the floodplain comprises Zambezian flooded grasslands, while the higher dry ground is a mosaic of Central Zambezian Miombo woodlands and Cryptosepalum dry forests. To the east the soil is very sandy and there are many pans which dry out in the dry season, and beyond the Lui River no surface water is available so this zone of scrubby miombo woodland is practically uninhabited as far east as the Luampa River. ==Economy==

Mongu lies at the end of the 590-km Lusaka–Mongu Road from Lusaka. The road to Kalabo called the Barotse Floodplain causeway was completed and opened in 2016. It is also at the end of the M10 road, which connects it to Senanga, to the Katima Mulilo Border with Namibia and to Livingstone. It is also home to a cathedral and a water tower, while among the several shopping places and social places, the town has a large market and an airport. Mongu Airport is mainly used by the Zambian Air Force and the United Nations to transport Angolan Refugees back to Angola. The town is also the location of the Nayuma Museum. ==References==