Editing Geography of Mozambique (section)

===The coast===
The coastline extends from 26° 52′ S. to 10° 40′ S., and from south to north makes a double curve with a general trend outward to the east. It has a length of {{convert|1430|mi|km|order=flip}}.

The southern coastline is characterized by sandy beaches backed by coastal dunes. The dunes can reach up to {{convert|120|m|ft|abbr=on}} in height, and older dunes are vegetated. Behind the coastal dunes are lagoons, including river estuaries, closed saline lagoons, and salt lakes.<ref>Pereira, Marcos & Litulo, Carlos & Santos, Rodrigo & Costa Leal, Miguel & Fernandes, Raquel & Tibirica, Yara & Williams, Jess & Atanassov, Boris & Carreira, Filipa & Massingue, Alice & Marques da Silva, Isabel. (2014). Mozambique marine ecosystems review. 10.13140/2.1.2092.5766.</ref> Some {{convert|40|mi|km|round=5|order=flip|abbr=on}} north of the [[South Africa]]n frontier is the deep indentation of [[Maputo Bay]] (formerly Delagoa Bay). The land then turns outward to [[Cape Correntes]], a little north of which is [[Inhambane Bay]]. Bending westward again and passing the [[Bazaruto Archipelago]] of several small islands, of which the chief is [[Bazaruto Island|Bazaruto]].

Mozambique's central coast, from Bazaruto Island north to [[Angoche Island]], is known as the [[Bight of Sofala/Swamp Coast|Bight of Sofala]] or Sofala Bay. It is also known as the Swamp Coast, and is  characterized by extensive mangrove swamps and coastal wetlands. As in the south, the coastline is generally low, and harbours are few and poor. [[Beira, Mozambique|Beira]] is the principal seaport on the central coast, with rail and highway links to the interior.

The bay has an area of {{convert|801,590|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}. The continental shelf is up to {{convert|140|km|mi|abbr=on}} wide at Beira, and is Mozambique's most important marine fishery. Several large rivers, including the [[Save River (Africa)|Save]], [[Pungwe River|Pungwe]], and [[Zambezi River|Zambezi]], create coastal estuaries and [[river delta]]s, of which the Zambezi delta is the largest.<ref>Pereira, Marcos & Litulo, Carlos & Santos, Rodrigo & Costa Leal, Miguel & Fernandes, Raquel & Tibirica, Yara & Williams, Jess & Atanassov, Boris & Carreira, Filipa & Massingue, Alice & Marques da Silva, Isabel. (2014). Mozambique marine ecosystems review. 10.13140/2.1.2092.5766.</ref> North of the Zambezi, the small coralline islands of the [[Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago]] lie parallel to the coast.

The northern coast is much indented, abounding in rocky headlands and rugged cliffs, with an almost continuous fringe of islands. On one of these islands is [[Island of Mozambique|Mozambique]], and immediately north of that port is [[Conducia Bay]]. Somewhat farther north are two large bays, [[Fernao Veloso Bay]] and [[Memba Bay]]. Nacala on Fernao  Veloso Bay is the principal seaport on the northern coast, with a rail link to [[Malawi]] and the coalfields of northwestern Mozambique. North of Fernao Veloso and Memba bays is [[Pemba Bay]], where there is commodious anchorage for heavy draught vessels. North of Pemba Bay the [[Quirimbas Islands]] lie offshore, and numerous bays and estuaries indent the coast. [[Cape Delgado]], the northernmost point on Mozambique's coast, is part of the delta of the [[Ruvuma River]], which forms Mozambique's border with [[Tanzania]].

The northern coast is part of the [[East African coral coast]], a marine ecoregion that extends along the coasts of northern Mozambique, Tanzania, and Kenya.<ref>Spalding, Mark D., Helen E. Fox, Gerald R. Allen, Nick Davidson ''et al.'' "Marine Ecoregions of the World: A Bioregionalization of Coastal and Shelf Areas". ''Bioscience'' Vol. 57 No. 7, July/August 2007, pp. 573-583.</ref> Along the northern coast the [[Mozambique Current]], which flows south between [[Madagascar]] and the continent is close to the coast and scours out all the softer material, while at the same time the [[coral]]s are building in deep waters.

A recent global remote sensing analysis suggested that there were 2,029km² of tidal flats in Mozambique, making it the 16th ranked country in terms of how much tidal flat occurs there.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Murray |first1=N.J. |last2=Phinn |first2=S.R. |last3=DeWitt |first3=M. |last4=Ferrari |first4=R. |last5=Johnston |first5=R. |last6=Lyons |first6=M.B. |last7=Clinton |first7=N. |last8=Thau |first8=D. |last9=Fuller |first9=R.A. |title=The global distribution and trajectory of tidal flats |journal=Nature |date=2019 |volume=565 |issue=7738 |pages=222–225 |doi=10.1038/s41586-018-0805-8 |pmid=30568300 |s2cid=56481043 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0805-8 |access-date=2021-08-03 |archive-date=2021-11-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124213205/https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0805-8 |url-status=live }}</ref>