Maputo Province

Maputo is a province of Mozambique; the province excludes the city of Maputo (which comprises a separate province). The province has an area of 22,693 km² and a population of 1,205,709 (2007 census). Its capital is the city of Matola.GeographyMaputo Province is the southernmost province of Mozambique. It borders Gaza Province to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal to the south, Swaziland to the southwest, and the Mpumalanga province of South Africa to the west and northwest. The Maputo Bay area to the southeast of Maputo is an important conservation area with many reefs and lakes. Of particular note is the Maputo Elephant Game Reserve, which has lakes such as Lagoa Chingute and Lagoa Piti in the vicinity, and the Machangulo Private Nature Reserve further north of this in the Machangulo Peninsula. The largest river of the province, the Maputo River, running from Amsterdam, Mpumalanga in South Africa near the Swaziland border, flows into Maputo Bay to the southeast of Maputo. Also flowing into the bay are the Umbeluzi River and the Incomati River. In the fall of 1999, the Maputo, Umbeluzi, Incompati and Limpopo rivers were affected by severe rainfall, 70 percent higher than normal which caused severe flooding. The Maputo and Incomati burst their banks on 12 January 2000, directly affecting some 40,000, and flooding along the Incomati affected about 20,000 several days later.