Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 4.djvu/319

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THE LOWER ZAMBESE.
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guese, through which the boatmen find it difficult to penetrate, especially during the months of May and June, when the vegetable growth is most vigorous.

South of the confluence of the Ruo or Luo, which flows from the Blantyre uplands, and which is navigable by boats for 50 miles, a huge nearly isolated and

Fig. 73. — Zambese and Shire Confluence.

forest-clad mountain springs from amid the surrounding swamps to an altitude of no less than 4,000 feet. Such is the superb Morambala, or "Sentinel Mountain," a conspicuous landmark for the boatmen and riverain populations of the Lower Zambese for a circuit of 60 miles. Thermal springs, very efficacious for some disorders, are said to well up at its foot.