Mount Darwin, Zimbabwe

Mount Darwin
Mount Darwin

Location in Zimbabwe

Coordinates: 16°45′54″S 31°34′30″E / 16.76500°S 31.57500°E / -16.76500; 31.57500
Country Zimbabwe
Province Mashonaland Central
Districts of Zimbabwe Mount Darwin District
Municipality Mount Darwin Town Council
Elevation 953 m (3,127 ft)
Population (2004 Estimate)
  Total 6,350
Climate Cwa

Mount Darwin or Karanda is a town in Zimbabwe.

Location

The town lies in Mount Darwin District, in Mashonaland Central Province in north-eastern Zimbabwe. It is located approximately 160 kilometres (99 mi), by road, northeast of Harare, the capital and largest city in that country.[1]

Overview

In addition to the offices of Mount Darwin Town Council, the town is also the location of the Mount Darwin District Administration. The town has a public hospital, Mount Darwin District Hospital, and a mission hospital, Karanda Mission Hospital. Karanda attends to anywhere from 10 to 20 surgeries and between 200 and 300 outpatients daily.[2] ZB Bank Limited, a commercial bank, maintains a branch in the town.[3] Mount Darwin is also served by Mount Darwin Airport.

History

Mount Darwin is the probable site of some of the earliest European missionary work in southern Africa, by the Portuguese Jesuit Gonçalo da Silveira, who arrived in 1560 and was killed in March 1561 near Mount Darwin following a souring of relations with the local chief. Mount Darwin was named by the hunter and explorer Frederick Courtney Selous after the British naturalist Charles Darwin.

Climate

Climate data for Mount Darwin, Zimbabwe (1961–1990)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 28.3
(82.9)
27.9
(82.2)
28.0
(82.4)
27.6
(81.7)
26.1
(79)
24.0
(75.2)
23.8
(74.8)
26.2
(79.2)
29.3
(84.7)
31.5
(88.7)
30.7
(87.3)
28.8
(83.8)
27.7
(81.9)
Average low °C (°F) 18.5
(65.3)
18.4
(65.1)
17.1
(62.8)
14.3
(57.7)
9.8
(49.6)
6.6
(43.9)
6.1
(43)
8.1
(46.6)
12.5
(54.5)
16.7
(62.1)
18.4
(65.1)
18.5
(65.3)
13.8
(56.8)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 219.0
(8.622)
185.9
(7.319)
86.7
(3.413)
28.9
(1.138)
5.2
(0.205)
0.9
(0.035)
1.2
(0.047)
0.5
(0.02)
1.4
(0.055)
10.3
(0.406)
64.2
(2.528)
183.4
(7.22)
787.6
(31.008)
Average rainy days 16 14 7 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 7 14 62
Source: World Meteorological Organization[4]

Population

The current population of Mount Darwin is not publicly known. In 2004, the town's population was estimated at 6,350.[5] The next national population census in Zimbabwe is scheduled from 18 August 2012 through 28 August 2012.[6]

Notable people

The following notable people are associated with Mount Darwin:

  1. Joice Mujuru – A politician; she was born here
  2. James Makamba – A businessman; he maintains a home in Mount Darwin
  3. Savior Kasukuwere – A politician; he was born here.

See also

References

Coordinates: 16°45′54″S 31°34′30″E / 16.76500°S 31.57500°E / -16.76500; 31.57500

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/9/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.