The Kipengere Range, also known as the Livingstone Mountains, lies entirely in Njombe Region in southwest Tanzania at the northern end of Lake Nyasa. Near Lake Nyasa they are known as the Kinga Mountains. It is a plateau-like ridge of mountains running southeastwards from the basin of the Great Ruaha River in the north to that of the Ruhuhu River in the south, and forms part of the eastern escarpment of the East African Rift. The range is mostly clad in montane grasslands, renowned for their botanical diversity and displays of flowers, with montane evergreen forests mostly in stream valleys. Some sources use the names Kipengere Range or Livingstone Mountains to describe the entire range, while others distinguish the Livingstone Mountains as the southwest-facing escarpment which runs along the shore of Lake Malawi, and the Kipengere Range as the high ridge that defines the northeastern edge of the Kitulo Plateau. Geography From the town of Mbeya the range runs south-east and forms part of the eastern escarpment of the East African Rift, extending about 100 km down the north-eastern shore of the lake to the Ruhuhu River. The volcanic Poroto Mountains form a north-western extension of the range. In parts the range presents more the character of a plateau than of a true mountain range, but the latter name may be justified by the fact that they form a comparatively narrow belt of country, which falls considerably to the east as well as to the west. Most of the range lies above 2000 meters elevation. The northern end is well marked in 8° 50′ S by an escarpment falling to the Usangu Plains, the eastern branch of the East African Rift and the basin of the Great Ruaha River. Southwards the range terminates in the deep valley of the Ruhuhu River in 10° 30′ S, the first decided break in the highlands that is reached from the north along the east coast of Lake Malawi. Towards the south the range appears to have a width of some 20 miles only, but northwards it widens out to about 40 miles, though broken here by the depression, drained towards the Great Ruaha, on the south side of which is Mtorwe (2961 m), the highest known summit of the range. The Kitulo Plateau, formerly the Elton Plateau, is a high plateau in the northern part of the range, defined by tall ridges running