Geographical Location
Tanzania lies immediately south of the Equator. It is bordered on the west by Rwanda, Burundi and Zaire, on the east by the Indian Ocean, on the north by Lake Victoria, Kenya and Uganda, to the southwest by Zambia, and to the south by Mozambique & Malawi.
The country is topographically varied. The coast consists of long sandy beaches protected by coral reefs. There are high grasslands and mountain ranges near the coast and to the south; from the north the Rift Valley branches east and west of Lake Victoria, and here there are several high volcanic peaks, notably Mt. Kilimanjaro (5895 m/19340 ft); skirting the south coast of the lake the immense Serengeti Plain extends to the west. East of the plain the eastern branch of the Rift Valley runs southwards from northeast of Lake Victoria, containing a number of lakes; the western branch runs south down the west side of Lake Victoria and forms Lake Tanganyika and Lake Rukwa.