Matope

Matope lies beside the Shire, the river that carries the waters of Lake Malawi south toward the Zambezi. Downstream, the middle Shire descends through a succession of gorges and falls before reaching the lower valley. By the sixteenth century, the Maravi had established kingdoms across the country west and south of the lake, extending into the Shire valley and toward the Zambezi.

The later city of Blantyre lies here.