Africa: All about Mozambique Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lourenco Marques

Lourenco Marques was changed to "Maputo" in 1976. A coastal city on the Indian Ocean, Maputo grew around a Portuguese fort built in the area in 1787, and was designated a city in 1887. It surpassed the town of Moçambique as Mozambique's capital, back in 1907 when Mozambique was called "Portuguese East Africa."

Lourenço Marques was a Portuguese colonizer of the 16th century.

Answer: Eswatini

Eswatini is a small country, and Mozambique shares a good relationship with this nation. Eswatini has a good amount of mineral deposits, some of which it trades with Mozambique. Eswatini lies south-west of Mozambique, as does South Africa.

Zimbabwe lies to the west of Mozambique, Tanzania lies north, Malawi and Zambia lie north-west. The island nations of Madagascar and Comoros lie east across the Mozambique Channel.

Answer: Niassa Reserve

The Niassa Reserve is situated between Mozambique's Cabo Delgado Province and Niassa Province, covering nearly a third of the latter. Niassa Reserve encompasses an area of around 16,215 square miles (42,300 square km). The northern boundary of the park is shaped by Rovuma River, which also forms part of Mozambique's border with neighbouring Tanzania. It is twice the size of the famed Kruger National Park. Mount Mecula, a 4,730 feet (1,442 m) high mountain, is located within the reserve, and is in the watershed for the Rovuma River.

Niassa Reserve is one of the largest miombo woodland reserves in the world. It is part of an eco-region of Mozambique which also covers neighbouring countries, Malawi and Tanzania: the Eastern miombo woodlands. It has a substantial population of the largest wild canine of Africa, the African wild dog, which is now considered endangered.

Answer: Monte Binga

Part of the Chimanimani Mountains, at 8,000 feet (2,440 m) high, Monte Binga not only the highest mountain in Mozambique, but the second-highest of neighbouring Zimbabwe. From the summit there is an incredible view of both the Indian Ocean, and the Mozambique Plains.

At 7,940 feet (2,420 m) high, Mount Namuli is the highest mountain located wholly within Mozambique, within the country's Zambezia Province. The forests around and on Mount Namuli provide a habitat for some endangered animals and birds, such as the Thyolo alethe bird, and the dappled mountain robin.

Answer: Lake Cahora Bassa

Cahora Bassa is located within Mozambique's Tete Province in the west of the country. In the late 1960s, while Mozambique was still under Portuguese administration, plans were set in motion to create the Cahora Bassa Dam, which forms the lake. It is one of the two major dams situated on the Zambezi, the other dam being Kariba. Cahora Bassa Dam is the largest dam of Mozambique.

The 2007 Mozambican flood was caused by Cahora Bassa Dam overflowing due to intense rain. This was exacerbated by Cyclone Favio hitting the country, with around 80,000 people across Mozambique having to be evacuated.

Answer: Vilanculos

Vilanculos is located in the south of the country, in Mozambique;s Inhambane Province.

The largest of the Bazaruto archipelago is Bazaruto Island, known for its pristine beaches, snorkelling and bird watching, and home to the Broadley's writhing skink, endemic to the island. The sand is said to be reminiscent of the sand of the desert, with sand dunes being visible in the middle of the ocean, depending on how close one is to the islands. Dolphins and whales are known to pass these islands.

Answer: Xai-Xai

Xai-Xai is located in the south of Mozambique, on the east shore of the Limpopo River, around 120 miles (200 km) away from Maputo. Cattle and crops are raised around the town. Xai-Xai is the capital of Mozambique's Gaza Province. Under Portuguese colonization, the city was known as "João Belo" and grew as both a port, and an agricultural hub where cashews and rice were grown.

The Praia do Xai-Xai beach is a popular tourist attraction of the city, with divers keen to explore the coral reed that runs beside the shoreline.

Answer: Samora Machel

In 1975, Samora Machel (1933-1986) became the first President of Mozambique since the country's independence the same year. The exact circumstances of this airplane crash that killed him in 1986 remain a fiercely debated mystery. At the time, protesters in South Africa blamed their government for the death of Machel, asserting that he was murdered. No conclusive evidence has been presented, and some argue it was simply bad weather that took the plane down.

The statue of Machel in Maputo is made of brass, and is located in the middle of the "Praça da Independência" independence square. The statue was erected in 2011, on the 25th anniversary of his death. Armando Guebuza, the third president of Mozambique (from 2005-2015) had the statue constructed and led its inauguration ceremony.

Answer: Niassa

Despite being the largest by area, Niassa Province is the most sparsely populated. The area is the homeland of both the Yao and the Makua people, encompassing 36 square miles (14 square km) in total, with the city of Lichinga is the province's capital. Located in the north-west of Mozambique's, Niassa Province's northern boundary with neighbouring country, Tanzana's Ruvuma Region, is formed by the Ruvuma River. Lake Niassa creates Niassa Province's western boundary, separating it from neighbouring country, Malawi.

Maputo City has provincial status in Mozambique, and is the country's smallest province by area.

Answer: Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Baluarte

The Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Baluarte is situated on the very eastern tip of the Island of Mozambique, on the eastern side of Stone Town. Stone Town is situated on the northern portion of the island, and it has been inhabited since around the 14th century, before the Portuguese established the trading port which would later become Stone Town, in 1507. It is the oldest European building standing on the southern hemisphere.

Arguably the oldest still-standing fort of Sub-Saharan Africa, Fort São Sebastião is located at the northern end of Stone Town. The fort was constructed by the Portuguese in the mid-16th century, and traded slaves, gold and spices here. The fort took between 50-50 years to be built.

Answer: Inhambane

Inhambane is situated in the south-east of Mozambique, around 290 miles (470 km) north-east of Maputo. It is one of the coldest regions of the country, with a daily high temperature average being 29 degrees centigrade. Cashew nuts are a major product of this city, and the Port of Inhambane was once a major hub for whaling, ivory and the slave trade. Nowadays, the coastline is known for its diving, beautiful beaches and markets. The Bantu language of Tonga is typically spoken here, as is around the south of Mozambique n general.

Inhambane is one of the few areas of Mozambique where marine mammal, the dugong, can be observed.

Answer: Centavo

"Centavo" translates as "one hundredth" on both Portuguese and Spanish.

The name "metical" is taken from the Arabic word, "mithqal," which means "unit of weight," the name for a unit of mass of 4.25 grams, usually used for measuring precious metals like gold, or other products such as saffron.

The Mozambican escudo was the currency of Mozambique from 1914-1980, when it was replaced by the Mozambican metical. The escudo was also divided into 100 Centavo.

Answer: Makhuwa

Makhuwa is the main language in the north of Mozambique, spoken by the Makua people, the largest ethnic group of Mozambique who are also found in the south of neighbouring Tanzania. Although the Makua have traditionally been involved with agriculture and hunting, there is evidence from the Medieval times that they were traders, interacting with merchants from East Africa to India, before colonialism took hold of the area.

Answer: Beira

In the centre region of Mozambique, the port city is Beira is situated where the Pungwe River runs into the Indian Ocean. Named after the Portuguese Prince of Beira, Dom Luís Filipe, Beira was originally called "Chiveve" after a nearby river.

Beira has the second-largest sea port of Mozambique, second only to the Port of Maputo. Up to 90% of Beira was damaged or destroyed during Cyclone Idai in 2019.

Answer: Nothophryne unilurio

Discovered in 2018, Nothophryne unilurio gets the "unilurio" in its name from the university that researched and discovered this frog species, Mozambique's Lúrio University, located in the city of Pemba. These frogs have only been found in the north-east of Mozambique's Cabo Delgado Province.