Iringa

Iringa
Hilltop view of Iringa Hilltop view of Iringa
Iringa Location in Tanzania
Coordinates:
Country	Tanzania
Region	Iringa Region
District	Iringa Urban
Population (2004)
• Total	112,900
Time zone	East Africa Time (UTC+3)

This article is about the city of Iringa. For the Iringa Region of Tanzania, see Iringa Region. For the Iringa municipal administrative district, see Iringa Urban. For the Iringa rural administrative district, see Iringa Rural.

Iringa is a city in Tanzania with a population of 112,900 (as of 2004). It is situated at a latitude of 7.77°S and longitude of 35.69°E. The name is derived from the Hehe word lilinga, meaning fort.

Iringa is the administrative capital of Iringa Region. It has many established industries, including manufacturing and food processing. Most of its electricity comes from the nearby Mtera Dam. Iringa is a minor transport hub, with regular bus service and trucking to Dar es Salaam, Mbeya, Songea, and Dodoma.

History

Iringa was built during the 1890s by the German Army as a defensive base to be used against the Hehe uprising led by Chief Mkwawa. The fortress and headquarters of Chief Mkwawa was situated in the nearby village of Kalenga. The town stretches along a hilltop overlooking the Ruaha River to the south, and spreads along ridges and valleys to the north. The altitude of the town's environs is more than 1,550 metres (5,090 ft) above sea level. The months of June, July, and August can see low temperatures near freezing. The Tanzam Highway passes through the valley below the town; the highway distance from Iringa's limits to Dar es Salaam is 502 kilometers (312 mi), via Morogoro. The Isimila Stone Age site, which lies about 20 km (12 mi) to the southwest, contains archeological artifacts, particularly stone tools, from human habitation about 70,000 years ago.

Iringa Urban Municipality is the administrative designation of the Municipality of Iringa.

In Iringa there are several institutions of higher education, among them Tumaini University – Iringa University College, Mkwawa University College of Education a constituent college of University of Dar es Salaam, and Ruaha University College under catholic church and constituent college of Saint Augustine University of Tanzania. Schools include Tosamaganga High School, Ruaha Secondary School,lugalo secondary school,mawelewele secondary school.

Climate

Climate data for Iringa
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	24 (76)	24 (75)	23 (73)	23 (74)	23 (74)	25 (77)	27 (81)	28 (82)	26 (79)	24.8 (76.8)
Average low °C (°F)	15 (59)	14 (58)	14 (58)	15 (59)	14 (57)	12 (53)	12 (53)	12 (53)	12 (54)	13 (56)	14 (58)	15 (59)	13.5 (56.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	175 (6.9)	130 (5)	173 (6.8)	89 (3.5)	13 (0.5)	3 (0.1)	0 (0)	0 (0)	3 (0.1)	5 (0.2)	38 (1.5)	119 (4.7)	748 (29.3)
Source: Weatherbase

Crafts

Iringa is famous for its woven baskets, made from local reeds. The baskets are used across Tanzania and also exported internationally. It is also now well known across Tanzania and elsewhere for the award winning Neema Crafts Centre

Iringa media

File:Iringa Cemetery.jpg

Iringa Cemetery

Iringa municipality has six FM radio stations and one TV station. The radios are; Ebony FM,Country FM and Nuru FM (youth entertainment and commercial radios),Over comers Radio and Radio Furaha(Christian radios),Kibra Ten Radio (Islamic radio). There are other radio stations elsewhere in Iringa region, such as Kituro community radio in Makete and the another FM radio station in Njombe.

Iringa Municipal Television is a multi-age TV station with diversified programmes.