Nacala
Maiaia
Cidade de Nacala
The beach at Nacala
The beach at Nacala
Nickname: 
Nacala-Porto
Nacala is located in Mozambique
Nacala
Nacala
Coordinates: 14°27′S 40°40′E / 14.450°S 40.667°E / -14.450; 40.667
Country Mozambique
ProvincesNampula Province
DistrictNacala-porto
Government
 • TypeDemocratico
 • Presidente do MunicipioRaul Novinte
Population
 (2017 census)
 • Total225,034
ClimateAw
Websitehttps://www.facebook.com/CMCNacalaPorto

Nacala, also known as Cidade de Nacala or Nacala-Porto is a city on the northern coast of Mozambique. Located in the southwestern indentation of inner Fernao Veloso Bay, it is the deepest natural port on the east coast of Africa. Nacala serves as the terminal for the Nacala railway, a rail line to the landlocked Malawi. South of Nacala is Mozambique Island, at one time the capital of Mozambique and now a World Heritage Site.

History

Nacala was founded as a little town and developed as a deep waters port and an industrial, agricultural and exporting centre during the last period of the Portuguese rule of the territory which ended in the mid-1970s. Among its major industries were cement, sisal and cashew. Other important employers were the seaport, its small modern hospital, and services (banking, insurance and administration).[1]

Industry

Nacala is site of one of three cement works in Mozambique.

Transport

Nacala is the terminal of the Nacala railway that connects to the Central East African Railway (CEAR) of Malawi. The railway system was managed by the Railroad Development Corporation until September 2008 when it was sold to a group of Mozambican investors.[2]

It is the location of the deep water port of Port of Nacala. A coal terminal, operated by the Port of Nacala, is located in the town of Nacala-a-Velha on the opposite side of the bay from Nacala.

Nacala Airport is a former airbase that has been converted into an international airport.

Demographics

Year (census) Population[3]
1997 158,248
2007 206,449
2017 225,034

Climate

Climate data for Nacala
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 32
(89)		 32
(89)		 32
(89)		 32
(89)		 31
(88)		 30
(86)		 29
(85)		 30
(86)		 31
(87)		 32
(89)		 32
(89)		 32
(89)		 31
(88)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 19
(67)		 19
(67)		 19
(67)		 18
(65)		 17
(63)		 16
(61)		 16
(60)		 15
(59)		 16
(61)		 18
(64)		 18
(65)		 19
(66)		 18
(64)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 190
(7.6)		 190
(7.6)		 170
(6.7)		 56
(2.2)		 13
(0.5)		 10
(0.4)		 2.5
(0.1)		 7.6
(0.3)		 5.1
(0.2)		 5.1
(0.2)		 33
(1.3)		 120
(4.8)		 810
(31.8)
Source: Weatherbase [4]

Miscellaneous

The town is also known for its beaches and scuba diving.

Namesake

There is another town in Mozambique that contains the name Nacala, it is called Nacala-a-Velha ("The Old Nacala"), just across the bay (c. 30km by road).

See also

References

  1. ↑ Nacala - no outro lado do tempo, short film of Nacala, Portuguese Mozambique before independence in 1975.
  2. ↑ RDC management
  3. ↑ "Mozambique: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". World Gazetteer. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  4. ↑ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Nacala, Mozambique". Weatherbase. 2011. Retrieved on November 24, 2011.

14°32′34″S 40°40′22″E / 14.54278°S 40.67278°E / -14.54278; 40.67278

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