Viphya Forest
Encyclopedia
Viphya Forest is a forest
south of Mzuzu
, a city in Malawi
. It is situated on the Viphya Plateau, amongst the Viphya Mountains
. It has an area of 560 km² and is the largest man made forest in Africa
. Among the birds to be found in Viphya Forest are the Scaly Francolin
, (Francolinus squamatus), Olive Woodpecker
(Dendropicos griseocephalus), and the Red-faced Crimson-wing
(Cryptospiza reichenovii).
The forest was started in 1964, and the trees were intended to be used for a pulp mill
that would create wood pulp
for export. However, due to an economic recession, the paper mill was never built.
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
south of Mzuzu
Mzuzu
Mzuzu is the capital of Malawi's Northern Region and is the third largest city, by population, in Malawi. The City has 128,432 residents plus 20,000 commuters with about 1.7 million people living around the outskirts of the city...
, a city in Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
. It is situated on the Viphya Plateau, amongst the Viphya Mountains
Viphya Mountains
Viphya Mountains are located in central Malawi. The spine of the mountains runs parallel to Lake Malawi....
. It has an area of 560 km² and is the largest man made forest in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. Among the birds to be found in Viphya Forest are the Scaly Francolin
Scaly Francolin
The Scaly Francolin is a species of bird in the Phasianidae family.It is found in Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sudan,...
, (Francolinus squamatus), Olive Woodpecker
Olive Woodpecker
The Olive Woodpecker is a species of bird in the Picidae family.It is found in Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 27...
(Dendropicos griseocephalus), and the Red-faced Crimson-wing
Red-faced Crimson-wing
The Red-faced Crimson-wing is a common species of estrildid finch found in Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 390,000 km²....
(Cryptospiza reichenovii).
The forest was started in 1964, and the trees were intended to be used for a pulp mill
Pulp mill
A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fibre source into a thick fibre board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical or fully chemical methods...
that would create wood pulp
Wood pulp
Pulp is a lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibres from wood, fibre crops or waste paper. Wood pulp is the most common raw material in papermaking.-History:...
for export. However, due to an economic recession, the paper mill was never built.