Tanzania is mountainous in the northeast where Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak, is situated. To the north and west are the Great Lakes: Lake Victoria (Africa's largest lake) and Lake Tanganyika (Africa's deepest lake and known for its unique species of fish). Central Tanzania comprises a large plateau, with plains and arable land. The eastern shore is hot and humid, with the island of Zanzibar lying just offshore.
Tanzania contains many large and ecologically significant wildlife parks, including the famous Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park in the north, with Selous Game Reserve and Mikumi National Park in the south. The Kalambo Falls are the second highest in Africa and are located near the southern tip of Lake Tanganyika.
Tanzania has a tropical climate. In the highlands, temperatures range between 10 and 20°C (50 and 68°F) during cold and hot seasons respectively. The rest of the country has temperatures rarely falling lower than 20°C (68°F). The hottest period extends between November and February (25 to 31°C / 77 to 87.8°F) while the coldest period occurs between May and August (15 to 20°C / 59 to 68°F). Annual temperature is 32 degrees celsius. The climate is cool in high mountainous regions.
Tanzania has two major rainfall regions. One is unimodal (December to April) and the other is bimodal (October to December and March to May). The former is experienced in southern, south-west, central and western parts of the country, and the latter is found to the north and northern coast.
