Mount Lico | |
---|---|
Highest point | |
Elevation | 1,100 m (3,600 ft) |
Coordinates | 15°47′27″S37°21′46″E / 15.79083°S 37.36278°E |
Naming | |
Language of name | Portuguese |
Geography | |
Location | Mozambique |
Climbing | |
First ascent | May 2018 |
Mount Lico is an inselberg mountain in the Alto Molocue District of Zambezia Province in northern Mozambique, most notable for its old-growth rainforest and its lack of penetration by humans. Mount Lico is approximately 1,100 metres (3,600 feet) above sea level but is distinctive in having sheer rock walls of up to 700 metres (2,300 feet) above the surrounding countryside that have all but prevented human intrusion. The forest on top, within a volcanic crater, covers only about 30 hectares (74 acres).
In 2012, Mt Lico was "discovered", or more correctly, identified as a place of special scientific interest, by Julian Bayliss [1] [2] of Oxford Brookes University, who had earlier similarly identified Mount Mabu some 70 kilometres (43 miles) southwest, by using Google Earth to search for significant landforms and vegetation features. [3] [4]
In May 2018, Bayliss led a multidisciplinary expedition to scale the sheer walls of Mount Lico and begin the study of its unique habitat. [5] [6] Although it had been considered unlikely that humans would have entered the mountain's forest prior to this expedition, evidence was discovered in the form of several pots which had been placed, possibly for religious reasons, at the source of a stream on the mountain top. [7] [6]
The geography of Mozambique consists mostly of coastal lowlands with uplands in its center and high plateaus in the northwest. There are also mountains in the western portion. The country is located on the east coast of southern Africa, directly west of the island of Madagascar. Mozambique has a tropical climate with two seasons, a wet season from October to March and a dry season from April to September.
Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropical rainforests or temperate rainforests, but other types have been described.
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The Eastern Highlands, also known as the Manica Highlands, is a mountain range on the border of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The Eastern Highlands extend north and south for about 300 kilometres (190 mi) through Zimbabwe's Manicaland Province and Mozambique's Manica Province.
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Earthwatch Institute is an international environmental charity. It was founded in 1971 as Educational Expeditions International by Bob Citron and Clarence Truesdale. Earthwatch Institute supports Ph.D. researchers internationally and conducts over 100,000 hours of research annually. Using the Citizen Science methodology, Earthwatch's mission statement is "to engage people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment." As such, it is one of the global underwriters of scientific field research in archaeology, paleontology, marine life, biodiversity, ecosystems and wildlife. For over forty years, Earthwatch has raised funds to recruit individuals, students, teachers, and corporate fellows to participate in critical field research to understand nature's response to accelerating global change.
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