RUAHA NATIONAL PARK

national park, west of Iringa town in south-central Tanzania. The park is located at an elevation of 2,500 to 5,200 feet (750 to 1,900 m) and covers an area of 5,000 square miles (12,950 square km) and was originally part of the Rungwa Game Reserve. Lying in the Eastern (Great) Rift Valley, the park, established in 1964, consists mostly of rolling plains east of the Great Ruaha River. Vegetation consists of clumps of palms and patches of open grassland; in the north there are scattered baobab trees and scrubby woodland. Wildlife includes lion, leopard, cheetah, elephant, zebra, kudu, bushbuck, buffalo, roan and sable antelope, and hartebeest. Crocodiles and hippopotamuses are found in the rivers.