The Messalo is a major river of northeastern Mozambique

Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

. It flows through Niassa Province

Niassa Province

Niassa is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 129,056 km² and a population of 1.027.037 . It is the most sparsely populated province in the country. Lichinga is the capital of the province. There are a minimum estimated 450,000 Yao people living in Mozambique...

 and Cabo Delgado Province, passes near Chai, and flows into the Mozambique Channel

Mozambique Channel

The Mozambique Channel is a portion of the Indian Ocean located between the island nation of Madagascar and southeast Africa, primarily the country of Mozambique. It was a World War II clashpoint during the Battle of Madagascar...

 of the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

 at Quiterajo beach at 11°40′25"S 40°26′25"E. The Messalo River is 530 km (329.3 mi) in length while the Messalo River Basin is 24000 km² (9,266.5 sq mi) in size. The river flooded its banks in March 2000 during the 2000 Mozambique flood

2000 Mozambique flood

The 2000 Mozambique flood was a natural disaster that occurred in February and March 2000. The catastrophic flooding was caused by heavy rainfall that lasted for five weeks and made many homeless. Approximately 800 people were killed. 1,400 km² of arable land was affected and 20,000 head of...

.

The 247 highway crosses the Messalo River. The major settlements on the river include Natulo and Marere (on the coast).

Geography

The Messalo River drains a catchment area of 24000 square kilometre. It is the 8th largest river among the 18 major river basins that drain Mozambique.

Mesalo River, the second largest river in the Cabo Delgado Province in northern Mozambique, delimits on its south the coastal area, along the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

 coastal belt, in the Macomia District

Macomia District

Macomia District is a district of Cabo Delgado Province in northern Mozambique. It covers 4,049 km² with 81,208 inhabitants.-External links:*...

; other coastal area boundary limits are set by the Diquide to the south and the coast line on the east. The estuary encompasses 5000 hectares (12,355.3 acre) of pristine mangrove forests unaffected by anthropogenic interference.

Agriculture
Agriculture, which is mostly at the subsistence level, practiced along rivers, swamps and lakes near the villages, covers cultivation of rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

, cassava

Cassava

Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...

, millet

Millet

The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...

, maize

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

, sweet potatoes, beans and coconuts

COcOnuts

COcOnuts is the second album released by Jane, comprising Animal Collective member Panda Bear, and Scott Mou. It was originally self-released on CD-R's, but later became the first album released by Psych-o-path Records in 2005. The Psych-o-path version was remastered by Rusty Santos and Edik Kleyner....

. Along the Messalo River, alluvial grasslands offer fertile soils that have moisture retaining potential in the dry season. These lands are used for the cultivation of rice and other crops. There are possibilities of rising two crops of rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

. Rice plantation is done in Nov/Dec and harvested around May/June. However, there are complaints of crops getting destroyed due to wild life depredations.

Fauna and flora

The Messalo Wildlife Area, named after the river, is a 33000 hectares (81,544.7 acre) inland safari area. It is characterized by acacia

Acacia

Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...

 and palm savannah

Savannah

Savannah or savanna is a type of grassland.It can also mean:-People:* Savannah King, a Canadian freestyle swimmer* Savannah Outen, a singer who gained popularity on You Tube...

, coastal forest, and miombo

Miombo

Miombo is the Swahili word for Brachystegia, a genus of tree comprising a large number of species. Miombo woodland is classified in the tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome...

 woodland. The river delta of the Messalo and the Zambezi are home to some of the most dense mangrove

Mangrove

Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...

 forests in the region.

Lion, leopard and elephant inhabit the area. The Nothobranchius

Nothobranchius

Nothobranchius is a genus of freshwater annual fish from East Africa in the family Nothobranchiidae which was long included in the Aplocheilidae. Many species have very small distributions. There are many species: as of April 2010 there are a total of 54 nominal species, not counting subspecies...

sp. Messalo river MZHL 05-12 MZHL 05-12, a species of Killifish

Killifish

A killifish is any of various oviparous cyprinodontiform fish . Altogether, there are some 1270 different species of killifish, the biggest family being Rivulidae, containing more than 320 species...

 endemic to the Messalo River is also an aquarium display species, which spawn

Spawn (biology)

Spawn refers to the eggs and sperm released or deposited, usually into water, by aquatic animals. As a verb, spawn refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, also called spawning...

s on peat

Peat

Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...

 or similar spawn substrata and fully adopts to neutral water conditions with water temperature in the range of 24–27 °C (75.2–80.6 F).

In the coastal estuary of the river, its wetlands are a breeding ground for birds, several fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

 and crustacean

Crustacean

Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...

 species. Alluvial silt is deposited in the estuary. In general, the coastal belt, which subsumes the Messalo estuary (the hot spot of biodiversity

Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...

), has rich marine

Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...

 vegetation

Vegetation

Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...

, apart from mangroves, such as sea grass meadows.
The wild life, in the mostly uncharted region of the coastal zone, includes marine wildlife comprising turtles and dugongs in large numbers. Wild life found consists of elephant, buffalo, various antelope (waterbuck

Waterbuck

The Waterbuck is a large antelope found widely in Sub-Saharan Africa.Waterbuck stand at the shoulder. Males weigh and females . Their coats are reddish brown in colour and become progressively darker with age; they have a white 'bib' under their throats and white on their rumps...

, eland

Common Eland

The common eland , also known as the southern eland or eland antelope, is a savannah and plains antelope found in East and Southern Africa. It is the largest antelope in the African continent...

, greater kudu

Greater Kudu

The Greater Kudu is a woodland antelope found throughout eastern and southern Africa. Despite occupying such widespread territory, they are sparsely populated in most areas, due to a declining habitat, deforestation and hunting....

, sable

Sable

The sable is a species of marten which inhabits forest environments, primarily in Russia from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, in northern Mongolia and China and on Hokkaidō in Japan. Its range in the wild originally extended through European Russia to Poland and Scandinavia...

, suni

Suni

Suni is a very small species of antelope. It occurs in south-east Africa in dense underbrush.Suni are around 12-17 inches high at the shoulder and weigh 10-12 pounds . They are usually reddish brown, darker on their back than their sides and legs. The belly, chin, throat and insides of legs are...

, oribi

Oribi

Oribi are graceful slender-legged, long-necked small antelope found in grassland almost throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.-Description:...

, duiker

Duiker

A duiker is any of about 21 small to medium-sized antelope species from the subfamily Cephalophinae native to Sub-Saharan Africa.Duikers are shy and elusive creatures with a fondness for dense cover; most are forest dwellers and even the species living in more open areas are quick to disappear...

), pigs

PIGS

PIGS is a four letter acronym that can stand for:* PIGS , Phosphatidylinositol glycan anchor biosynthesis, class S, a human gene* PIGS , the economies of Portugal, Italy , Greece and Spain...

 and primates, elephant shrew

Elephant shrew

Elephant shrews or jumping shrews are small insectivorous mammals native to Africa, belonging to the family Macroscelididae, in the order Macroscelidea...

, predators

Predation

In ecology, predation describes a biological interaction where a predator feeds on its prey . Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to feeding on them, but the act of predation always results in the death of its prey and the eventual absorption of the prey's tissue through consumption...

 such as hyena

Hyena

Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...

, leopard

Leopard

The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...

, wild dog

African Wild Dog

Lycaon pictus is a large canid found only in Africa, especially in savannas and lightly wooded areas. It is variously called the African wild dog, African hunting dog, Cape hunting dog, painted dog, painted wolf, painted hunting dog, spotted dog, or ornate wolf...

 (in packs of 20 or more), Lion

Lion

The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...

 (in large numbers of 2000 or more); African elephant and the wild dog species are categorized as ‘endangered’ in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. Elephants, Black rhinoceros

Black Rhinoceros

The Black Rhinoceros or Hook-lipped Rhinoceros , is a species of rhinoceros, native to the eastern and central areas of Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Angola...

, impala

Impala

An impala is a medium-sized African antelope. The name impala comes from the Zulu language meaning "gazelle"...

, zebra

Zebra

Zebras are several species of African equids united by their distinctive black and white stripes. Their stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual. They are generally social animals that live in small harems to large herds...

, Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest

Hartebeest

The hartebeest is a grassland antelope found in West Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa. It is one of the three species classified in the genus Alcelaphus....

, wildebeest

Wildebeest

The wildebeest , also called the gnu is an antelope of the genus Connochaetes. It is a hooved mammal...

, cheetah

Cheetah

The cheetah is a large-sized feline inhabiting most of Africa and parts of the Middle East. The cheetah is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx, most notable for modifications in the species' paws...

 and reedbuck

Reedbuck

Reedbuck is a common name for African antelopes from the genus Redunca. These species are:* Southern Reedbuck, Redunca arundinum* Mountain Reedbuck, Redunca fulvorufula* Bohor Reedbuck, Redunca redunca...

, though reported in the past, await reconfirmation. The coastal zone does not have any human population within its limits, except for a few villages along the 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) stretch of main road to Mocimboa de Praia (Macomia-Mocimboa road) bordering the project boundary. Fishing is an important vocation for the people living in the estuary

Estuary

An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....

, though “Transient fishermen” competing with them in this economic activity is a disadvantage. Molluscs and crustaceans are gathered by women in the intertidal zone for their consumption. Sea cucumbers are also harvested and dried for commercial sale. White lime or building material is produced by using specific varieties of gastropods

Gastropoda

The Gastropoda or gastropods, more commonly known as snails and slugs, are a large taxonomic class within the phylum Mollusca. The class Gastropoda includes snails and slugs of all kinds and all sizes from microscopic to quite large...

(Chicoreus ramosus, Fasciolaria trapezium).