Tanganyika Territory

Geology.

The narrow foot-plateau of Kenya Colony broadens out to the south of Bagamoyo to a width of over zoo miles. This is covered to a considerable extent by rocks of recent and late Tertiary ages. Older Tertiary rocks form the bluffs of Lindi. Cretaceous marls and limestones appear at intervals, extending in places to the edge of the upper plateau, and are extensively de veloped on the Makonde plateau. They are underlain by Jurassic rocks, from beneath which sandstones and shales yielding Glossop teris browniana var. indica, and theref ore of Lower Karroo age, appear in the south, but are overlapped on the north by Jurassic strata. The central plateau consists almost entirely of meta morphic rocks with extensive tracts of granite in Unyamwezi.

The volcanic plateau of Kenya Colony extends over the bound ary in the region of Kilimanjaro. Of the sister peaks, Kibo and Mawenzi, the latter is far the oldest and has been greatly denuded, while Kibo retains its crateriform shape intact. The rif t-valley faults continue down the depression, marked by numerous vol canoes, in the region of the Natron lake and Lake Manyara ; while the steep walls of the deep depression of Tanganyika and Nyasa represent the western rift system at its maximum development.

Fossil remains of saurians of gigantic size have been found in the Tendagura hills and other parts of the Lindi district ; one thigh bone measures 6ft. io in., the same bone in the Diplodocus Carnegii measuring only 4ft. 11in. The examination of the sites begun by the Germans in 1909 was continued by the British, in teresting discoveries being made in Climate.—The warm currents setting landwards from the Indian ocean bring both moisture and heat, so that the coast has a higher temperature and heavier rainfall than the Atlantic sea board under the same parallels of latitude. The mean temperature on the west and east coasts of Africa is 72° and 8o° Fahr. respect ively, the average rainfall in Angola 36 in., in Dar-es-Salaam 6o inches. On the Swahili coast the south-east monsoon begins in April and the north-east monsoon in November. Besides the coast lands, three other climatic zones may be distinguished, as follows, though there are many local variations : (I) a hot and moderately dry zone from 30o to 2,000 ft. high between the lowlands and the central plateau; (2) the central plateau zone, between 2,000 and 4,000 feet. Here rainfall is lower—an average of 32 inches a year

at Tabora—the air dry and hot with great daily and seasonal variations; (3) a semi-temperate zone in regions over 5,00o feet. On the highest regions the climate is almost European, the nights being sometimes exceedingly cold. Two highland areas have climatic conditions permitting European settlement. The first is the Usambara hills together with the Moshi and Arusha dis tricts of Kilimanjaro ; the second, and larger, area stretches from Iringa on the central plateau south-west to Lake Nyasa. This area is known as the south-western highlands. In the country gen erally there are two rainy seasons, the "long rains" from February or March, and lasting two or three months, and the "lesser rains" in October and November.

Flora and Fauna.

The coast plains are covered by a rich tropical bush, in which the mangrove is very prominent. Coco palms and mango trees have been planted in great numbers, and also many varieties of bananas. The river banks are lined with belts of dense forest, in which are useful timber trees. The Hyphaene palm is frequent, as well as various kinds of gum producing mimosas. The slopes of the plateau which face the rain-bringing monsoon are in some places covered with primeval forest, in which timber is plentiful. The silk-cotton tree (Bombax ceiba), miomba, tamarisk, copal tree (Hymenaea courbaril) are frequent, besides the rubber tree (Landolphia Florida), sycamores, banyan trees (Ficus indica) and the deleb palm (Borassus aethio pium). The plateau is partly grass land without bush or forest, partly steppe covered with mimosa bush, which sometimes is al most impenetrable.

Tanganyika is rich in all kinds of antelope, and the elephant, rhinoceros and hippopotamus are still plentiful in parts. Char acteristic are the giraffe, the chimpanzee and the ostrich. Buffaloes and zebras occur in two or three varieties. Lions and leopards are found throughout the country. Crocodiles are numerous in all the larger rivers. Snakes, many venomous, abound. Of birds there are comparatively few on the steppe, but by rivers, lakes and swamps they are found in thousands. Locusts occasion much damage, and ants of various kinds are often a plague. The tsetse fly (Glossing morsitans) infests several districts ; the sand-flea has been imported from the west coast. Land and water turtles are numerous.