tanzania – situations plan access route to the western arc usambara mountains lushoto district map western arc usambara mountains hot - spots forest map of the western arc usambara mountains shambala, also kishambala, (ki)sambaa, (ki)shambaa is spoken by the shambaa in the usambara mountains in the lushoto district and district, , of northern . some dialectal variation exists between the language as spoken in the area around lushoto and the areas around mlalo and mtae, possibly also between the shambaa of the western usambara mountains and the eastern usambara mountains. location in tanzania

coordinates: / 4.6666667°s 38.3166667°e

area - total 3,500 km2 (1,351.4 sq mi) - land 3,500 km2 (1,351.4 sq mi) - water 0 km2 (0 sq mi)

population (2009) - total 388,663 - density 71/km2 (184/sq mi) includes ethnicity - sambaa - pare - time zone eat (utc+3) - summer (dst) not observed (utc+3) area code(s) 027 wards of lushoto district the lushoto district is administratively divided into 32 wards:

 baga  bumbuli  funta  gare  hemtoye  kwai  lunguza  lushoto (until world war i: wilhelmstal)  malibwi  malindi  makanya  mamba  mayo  mbaramo  mbuzii  mgwashi  mlalo  mlingano  mlola  mnazi (english meaning: coconut tree)  mng'aro  mponde  mtae  mwangoi  ngwelo  rangwi  shume  soni  sunga  tamota  ubiri  vuga the usambara mountains are a mountain range in north-east tanzania, approximately 70 miles (110 km) long and ranging from 20 to 40 miles (30-60 km) in width. mountains in the range rise as high as 8,000 ft (2,440 m). the range is accessible from the towns of lushoto in the west, and amani in the east. the usambaras are commonly split into two sub-ranges, the west usambara and the east usambara. the east usambara is closer to the coast, receives more rainfall, and is significantly smaller than the west. the usambaras are fairly unique in that, being in east africa, their unspoiled regions are covered in the tropical forest which today remains mainly in the west of the continent. considered tremendously significant ecologically, there are many protected zones throughout the range which are being expanded and contributed to by the tanzanian government, associated ngo's and research teams, and donor countries such as norway. several species are endemic to the usambara forests, including the naduk eagle owl, usambara alethe, the usambara weaver and calodendrum eickii. the surrounding region was among the first in east africa to be settled, in 1902, by european farmers. the nearby town of amani was a popular german resort for many years in colonial times. much of the mountains are used in the production of coffee, sisal, tea, and cinchona, with rice grown in the swampy foothills. birds of the east usambara mountains birds are perhaps the best known animal group in the east usambaras. the famous ornithologist, reginald moreau, resided in amani in the 1920-40s and is largely responsible for the knowledge on birds of these mountains. his findings included discoveries of new species, one of which has been named in his honor (long-billed tailorbird, orthotomus moreaui). he was followed by simon stuart who investigated the ecology of forest birds in the amani-sigi area from 1979-1981. other bird researchers have also greatly enriched our understanding of bird life in these vastly rich mountains. at present there are over 350 species recorded from lowland and montane habitats, covering the entire span of mountain ranges that form the east usambaras (nilo and mtai to amani and magoroto). for comparison, finland has 330 times more area than the east usambaras and yet only 400 species of birds. of these bird species, 12 are on the globally threatened bird list and are therefore one of the amani nature reserve’s primary foci for future conservation efforts. four very rare forest species occur here and are therefore very much sought after by visiting birders: long-billed tailorbird, sokoke scops owl otus ireneae, usambara eagle-owl bubo vosseleri, and tanzanian weaver ploceus nicolli.