Editing Harare (section)

== Geography ==
===Topography===
The city sits on one of the higher parts of the [[Highveld]] plateau of Zimbabwe at an elevation of {{convert|1483|m|abbr=off}}. The original landscape could be described as a "parkland"<ref>TV Bulpin: Discovering South Africa pp 838</ref> or wild place. The soils of Harare are varied: the northern and central areas largely have reddish brown, granular clay; some of the southern parts have gray-brown sand over pale, loamy sand or sandy loam.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/images/Eudasm/Africa/images/maps/download/afr_zw2006_so.jpg|title=Provisional Soil Map of Zimbabwe Rhodesia|website=European Soil Data Centre}}</ref>

=== Suburbs ===
{{Main|Category:Suburbs of Harare}}

The City of Harare is divided into suburbs, outside of which are independent municipalities such as [[Epworth, Zimbabwe|Epworth]], [[Mount Hampden]], [[Norton, Zimbabwe|Norton]], Ruwa, and [[Chitungwiza]], which are still located within the greater metropolitan province.<ref name="auto13"/>

The [[central business district]] of Harare is characterized by wide streets and a mix of historic, post-war, and modern buildings. Downtown sights include the Kopje Africa Unity Square, the Harare Gardens, the National Gallery, the August House parliamentary buildings, and the [[National Archives]]. [[Causeway, Harare|Causeway]], a road and sub-neighbourhood of central Harare, is a busy workaday area that acts as the city's "embassy row" (along with Belgravia to the north-east) in which numerous embassies, diplomatic missions, research institutes, and other international organizations are concentrated.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nDSR1FF2hY8C&q=causeway+harare&pg=PA377|title=Africa Review 200 -Op/075|isbn=9780749440657|last1=Page|first1=Kogan Kogan|year=2003|publisher=Walden Publishing Limited }}</ref> Additionally, many government ministries and museums, such as the [[Zimbabwe Museum of Human Sciences]], are located here.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2010-02-18|title=Zimbabwe displays 'Biblical Ark'|language=en-GB|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8522097.stm|access-date=2020-11-25}}</ref>

[[Rotten Row, Harare|Rotten Row]] is a sub-district of downtown Harare that begins at the intersection of Prince Edward Street and Samora Machel Avenue and runs to the flyover where it borders [[Mbare]] on Cripps Road.<ref name="auto12">{{cite web|last=Herald|first=The|title=Inside Rotten Row Court 6|url=https://www.herald.co.zw/inside-rotten-row-court-6/|access-date=2020-11-25|website=The Herald|language=en-GB}}</ref> Rotten Row was named after a road in [[London]] of the same name. The name "Rotten Row" is an altered form of the French phrase "Route du Roi," the [[King's Road]].<ref>{{cite web|title=History and Architecture|url=https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/hyde-park/about-hyde-park/history-and-architecture|access-date=2020-11-25|website=The Royal Parks|language=en|archive-date=27 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127130930/https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/hyde-park/about-hyde-park/history-and-architecture|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is known as Harare's legal district, home to the Harare Magistrate's Court, the city's central library, and the [[ZANU-PF]] building, along with numerous law offices.<ref name="auto12"/> The neighbourhood also lends its name to the eponymous book by [[Petina Gappah]] published in 2016.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kola|first=F. T.|date=2016-11-19|title=Rotten Row by Petina Gappah review – buzzing with Zimbabwe life|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/nov/19/rotten-row-by-petina-gappah-review|access-date=2020-11-25|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref>

The northern and north-eastern suburbs of Harare are generally home to its more affluent residents, including former president [[Robert Mugabe]], who lived in Borrowdale Brooke.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestandard.co.zw/2014/06/22/mugabes-borrowdale-brooke-neighbour-speaks/|title=Mugabe's Borrowdale Brooke neighbour speaks out|date=22 June 2014}}</ref> These northern suburbs are often referred to as "dales" because of the common suffix "-dale" found in some suburbs such as Avondale, Greendale, and Borrowdale.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}} The dwellings are mostly low-density homes of 3 bedrooms or more, and these are usually occupied by families.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}} Borrowdale in particular is home to some of the most extensive real estate developments in the city.<ref name="auto6">{{cite web |title=Of suburb names and colonial hangover |url=https://www.thepatriot.co.zw/old_posts/of-suburb-names-and-colonial-hangover/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428201957/https://www.thepatriot.co.zw/old_posts/of-suburb-names-and-colonial-hangover/ |archive-date=28 April 2021 |access-date=16 November 2020 |website=The Patriot}}</ref> The north-western suburb of [[Emerald Hill, Zimbabwe|Emerald Hill]] is named so either due to the green colour of the tree-covered hill or its Irish connections — many of the roads in the suburb have Irish names, such as [[Dublin]], [[Belfast]], Wicklow, and Cork.<ref name="auto6"/>
 
To the east of Harare's city center, notable suburbs include [[Arcadia, Harare|Arcadia]], [[Newlands, Harare|Newlands]], Arlington, and others. [[Newlands, Harare|Newlands]] was named by Colin Duff, Zimbabwe's agricultural secretary in the 1920s. Arlington is a newer suburb adjacent to [[Harare International Airport]] and was previously owned by William Harvey Brown, a former mayor of Salisbury. Brown was originally from [[Iowa]] and joined the occupying [[British South Africa Company]] forces in the 1890s to collect specimens for the [[Smithsonian Institution]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name="auto6"/>

The southern portions of Harare have historically been more industrial areas, often home to most of its African population as well as some lower-class European-descended populations.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41230768|jstor = 41230768|title = The European Population of Southern Rhodesia |last1 = McEwan|first1 = Peter J. M.|journal = Civilisations|year = 1963|volume = 13|issue = 4|pages = 429–444}}</ref> Willowvale, is perhaps best known for the 1988 [[Willowgate]] scandal, which implicated several members of the [[ZANU-PF]] party in a scheme where automobiles were illegally resold by various government officials.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}} Harare's south-west also contains many high-density townships, which were set up by the government from the 1930s onwards. For example, [[Highfield, Harare|Highfield]], established in 1930, is the second-oldest high-density suburb in Harare. Highfield was created as a place for black workers to settle, providing labor for the industrial areas of Southerton and Workington.<ref name="auto6"/>

===Climate===
[[File:Jacaranda trees in Montagu Ave, Harare, Zimbabwe in 1975.jpg|thumb|[[Jacaranda]] trees in Montagu Ave, Salisbury in 1975]]
Under the [[Köppen climate classification]], Harare has a [[subtropical highland climate]] (Köppen ''Cwb''), an [[oceanic climate]] variety. Because the city is situated on a plateau, its high altitude and cool south-easterly airflow cause it to have a climate that is cooler and drier than a [[Tropical climate|tropical]] or [[subtropical climate]].

The average annual temperature is {{convert|17.95|°C|1}}, rather low for the tropics. This is due to its high altitude position and the prevalence of cool south-easterly airflow.<ref>Average for years 1965–1995, Goddard Institute of Space Studies World Climate database</ref>

There are three main seasons: a warm, wet summer from November to March/April; a cool, dry winter from May to August (corresponding to winter in the Southern Hemisphere); and a warm to hot, dry season in September/October. Daily temperature ranges are about  {{convert|7|-|22|°C|°F|0}} in July (the coldest month), about  {{convert|15|-|29|°C|°F|0}} in October (the hottest month) and about {{convert|16|-|26|°C|°F|0}} in January (midsummer). The hottest year on record was October 26, 2011 with {{convert|37|°C|°F|1}} and the coldest year was 1965 with {{convert|17.13|°C|°F|1}}.

The average annual rainfall is about {{convert|825|mm|abbr=on}} in the southwest, rising to {{convert|855|mm|abbr=on}} on the higher land of the northeast (from around Borrowdale to Glen Lorne). Very little rain typically falls during the period of May to September, although sporadic showers occur most years. Rainfall varies a great deal from year to year and follows cycles of wet and dry periods from 7 to 10 years long. Records begin in October 1890 but all three Harare stations stopped reporting in early 2004.<ref>Global Historic Climate Network database NGDC</ref>

The climate supports the natural vegetation of open woodland. The most common tree of the local region is the msasa or ''[[Brachystegia spiciformis]]'' whose wine-red leaves are most visible in the city in late August. Two introduced species of trees, the [[jacaranda]] and the [[Delonix regia|flamboyant]] from South America and Madagascar respectively, were introduced during the colonial era and contribute to the city's colour palette with their lilac and red blossoms. The two species flower in October/November and are planted on alternating streets in the capital. [[Bougainvillea]] is prevalent in Harare as well. Some trees from Northern Hemisphere middle latitudes are also cultivated, including [[American sweetgum]], [[English oak]], [[Quercus mongolica|Japanese oak]] and [[Quercus texana|Spanish oak]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Ornamental Trees | website=goldenstairsnursery.co.zw | date=2021-09-27 | url=https://www.goldenstairsnursery.co.zw/product-category/plants/trees-ornamental/page/4/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927081311/https://www.goldenstairsnursery.co.zw/product-category/plants/trees-ornamental/page/4/ | archive-date=2021-09-27 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

{{Weather box
|width = auto
|location = Harare (1961–1990, extremes 1897–present)
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|Jan record high C = 33.9
|Feb record high C = 35.0
|Mar record high C = 32.3
|Apr record high C = 32.0
|May record high C = 30.0
|Jun record high C = 27.7
|Jul record high C = 28.8
|Aug record high C = 31.0
|Sep record high C = 35.0
|Oct record high C = 36.7
|Nov record high C = 35.3
|Dec record high C = 33.5
|year record high C = 36.7
|Jan high C = 26.2
|Feb high C = 26.0
|Mar high C = 26.2
|Apr high C = 25.6
|May high C = 23.8
|Jun high C = 21.8
|Jul high C = 21.6
|Aug high C = 24.1
|Sep high C = 28.4
|Oct high C = 28.8
|Nov high C = 27.6
|Dec high C = 26.3
|year high C = 25.5
|Jan mean C = 21.0
|Feb mean C = 20.7
|Mar mean C = 20.3
|Apr mean C = 18.8
|May mean C = 16.1
|Jun mean C = 13.7
|Jul mean C = 13.4
|Aug mean C = 15.5
|Sep mean C = 18.6
|Oct mean C = 20.8
|Nov mean C = 21.2
|Dec mean C = 20.9
|year mean C = 18.4
|Jan low C = 15.8
|Feb low C = 15.7
|Mar low C = 14.5
|Apr low C = 12.5
|May low C = 9.3
|Jun low C = 6.8
|Jul low C = 6.5
|Aug low C = 8.5
|Sep low C = 11.7
|Oct low C = 14.5
|Nov low C = 15.5
|Dec low C = 15.8
|year low C = 12.3
|Jan record low C = 9.6
|Feb record low C = 8.0
|Mar record low C = 7.5
|Apr record low C = 4.7
|May record low C = 2.8
|Jun record low C = 0.1
|Jul record low C = 0.1
|Aug record low C = 1.1
|Sep record low C = 4.1
|Oct record low C = 5.1
|Nov record low C = 6.1
|Dec record low C = 10.0
|year record low C = 0.1
|precipitation colour=green
|Jan precipitation mm = 190.8
|Feb precipitation mm = 176.3
|Mar precipitation mm = 99.1
|Apr precipitation mm = 37.2
|May precipitation mm = 7.4
|Jun precipitation mm = 1.8
|Jul precipitation mm = 2.3
|Aug precipitation mm = 2.9
|Sep precipitation mm = 6.5
|Oct precipitation mm = 40.4
|Nov precipitation mm = 93.2
|Dec precipitation mm = 182.7
|year precipitation mm = 840.6
|unit precipitation days=
|Jan precipitation days = 17
|Feb precipitation days = 14
|Mar precipitation days = 10
|Apr precipitation days = 5
|May precipitation days = 2
|Jun precipitation days = 1
|Jul precipitation days = 0
|Aug precipitation days = 1
|Sep precipitation days = 1
|Oct precipitation days = 5
|Nov precipitation days = 10
|Dec precipitation days = 16
|year precipitation days = 82
|Jan humidity = 76
|Feb humidity = 77
|Mar humidity = 72
|Apr humidity = 67
|May humidity = 62
|Jun humidity = 60
|Jul humidity = 55
|Aug humidity = 50
|Sep humidity = 45
|Oct humidity = 48
|Nov humidity = 63
|Dec humidity = 73
|year humidity = 62
|Jan sun = 217.0
|Feb sun = 190.4
|Mar sun = 232.5
|Apr sun = 249.0
|May sun = 269.7
|Jun sun = 264.0
|Jul sun = 279.0
|Aug sun = 300.7
|Sep sun = 294.0
|Oct sun = 285.2
|Nov sun = 231.0
|Dec sun = 198.4
|year sun = 3010.9
|Jand sun = 7.0
|Febd sun = 6.8
|Mard sun = 7.5
|Aprd sun = 8.3
|Mayd sun = 8.7
|Jund sun = 8.8
|Juld sun = 9.0
|Augd sun = 9.7
|Sepd sun = 9.8
|Octd sun = 9.2
|Novd sun = 7.7
|Decd sun = 6.4
|yeard sun = 8.2
|source 1 = [[World Meteorological Organization]],<ref name = WMO >{{cite web
|url = http://worldweather.wmo.int/130/c00263.htm
|title = World Weather Information Service – Harare
|publisher = World Meteorological Organization
|access-date = 10 June 2016
|archive-date = 29 August 2019
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190829103402/http://worldweather.wmo.int/130/c00263.htm
|url-status = dead
}}</ref> NOAA (sun and mean temperature, 1961–1990),<ref name = NOAA>
{{cite web
|url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/ZI/67775.TXT
|title = Harare Kutsaga Climate Normals 1961–1990
|publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]
|access-date = 10 June 2016}}</ref> 
|source 2 = [[Deutscher Wetterdienst]] (humidity, 1954–1975),<ref name = DWD>
{{cite web
|url = http://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_677750_kt.pdf
|title = Klimatafel von Harare-Kutsaga (Salisbury) / Simbabwe
|work = Baseline climate means (1961–1990) from stations all over the world
|publisher = Deutscher Wetterdienst
|language = de
|access-date = 10 June 2016}}</ref> Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)<ref name = meteoclimat>
{{cite web 
|url = http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/index.php?page=stati&id=944
|title = Station Harare 
|publisher = Meteo Climat 
|language = fr 
|access-date = 10 June 2016}}</ref>
|date=August 2010
}}