Mount Mabu

Mount Mabu
Highest point
Elevation1,700 m (5,600 ft)
Coordinates16°17′52″S 36°23′39″E / 16.29778°S 36.39417°E / -16.29778; 36.39417
Naming
Language of namePortuguese
Geography
Mount Mabu is located in Mozambique
Mount Mabu
Mount Mabu
Location of Mount Mabu in Mozambique
LocationMozambique

Mount Mabu is a mountain in northern Mozambique, famous for its old-growth rain forest. Mount Mabu is approximately 1,700 metres (5,600 feet) high and the forest covers about 7,000 hectares (27 square miles), or roughly 17,000 acres. While well-known locally, the Mount Mabu forest and its extremely diverse flora and fauna were virtually unknown to science until 2005,[1] when the location was finally visited by a team of researchers from the Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust (MMCT), along with several ornithologists,[2] and, in 2008, by scientists from Kew Royal Botanic Gardens. The scientific expeditions were only made possible by finding the mountain's location on Google Earth's satellite-view, looking for potentially unknown wildlife hotspots in Africa.[3][4] Thus, Mount Mabu is frequently referred to as the "Google Forest".[5][3][6] It forms part of a proposed ecoregion, to be called the "Southeast Africa Montane Archipelago" (SEAMA).[7]

  1. ^ "The discovery, biodiversity and conservation of Mabu forest—the largest medium-altitude rainforest in southern Africa" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
  2. ^ Spottiswoode, Claire N; Patel, Hassam I; Herrmann, Eric; Timberlake, Jonathan; Bayliss, Julian (April 1, 2008). "Threatened bird species on two little-known mountains (Chiperone and Mabu) in northern Mozambique". Ostrich. 79 (1): 1–7. doi:10.2989/OSTRICH.2008.79.1.1.359. S2CID 86727722 – via Taylor and Francis+NEJM.
  3. ^ a b "Exploring the 'Google forest'". BirdLife International. 26 January 2009. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
  4. ^ Jowit, Juliette (21 December 2008). "British team discovers lost Eden amid forgotten forest of Africa". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
  5. ^ "Helixanthera schizocalyx". Kew Plants & Fungi. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. Archived from the original on 23 December 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
  6. ^ Fisher, Jonah (11 June 2009). "Exploring the 'Google forest'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
  7. ^ GrrlScientist (2 April 2024). "Hundreds Of New Species Discovered On Africa's Isolated Sky Islands". forbes.com. Forbes. Retrieved 10 April 2024.