Mozambique Channel

Large stretch of water in the western part of the Indian Ocean, lying between the island of Madagascar to the east and the Mozambique Republic on the African mainland to the west. It is about 1,600 km/1,000 mi long north-south, 400 km/250 mi at its narrowest, and 950 km/600 mi at its widest. Its maximum depth is 3,000 m/10,000 ft.

Large rivers flowing into the channel include the Limpopo and the Zambezi, which drains an area of some 1,300,000 sq km/502,000 sq mi in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. Major ports on the Channel include Mahajanga and Toliara in Madagascar, and in Mozambique, Maputo, Beira, and Nacala.

The Mozambique Channel is important to the maritime trade of east Africa. Maputo, the leading port of the channel, has a deep-water harbour on Delagoa Bay, and handles most of the overseas trade both of Mozambique and of the landlocked countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe, exporting cotton, coal, sugar, sisal, and processed food, especially shrimps.