Karonga

Pre-historic tools and remains of hominids discovered in Malawi's remote northern district of Karonga provides further proof that the area could be the cradle of humankind. Professor Friedemann Schrenk of the Goethe University in Frankfurt told Reuters News that two students working on the excavation site in September 2009 had discovered prehistoric tools and a tooth of a hominid. "This latest discovery of prehistoric tools and remains of hominids provides additional proof to the theory that the Great Rift Valley of Africa and perhaps the excavation site near Karonga can be considered the cradle of humankind." Schrenk said. The site also contains some of the earliest dinosaurs which lived between 100 million and 140 million years ago and early hominids believed to have lived between a million and 6 million years ago. The discovery was at Malema excavation site 10 km (6 mi) from Karonga. …

Karonga is at an elevation of 478 metres (1,568 ft) on the western shore of Lake Nyasa. It is situated 28 kilometres (17+1⁄4 mi) from Kenan Ngomba, 18 km (11 mi) from Kaporo, 42.5 km (26+1⁄2 mi) from Kilondo and 12 km (7+1⁄2 mi) from Lupembe.

The Cultural & Museum Centre Karonga is Karonga's most popular attraction to tourists. It is home to the Malawisaurus, a 150-million-year-old fossil discovered 45 kilometres (28 mi) south of the district. It displays an exhibit entitled "From Dinosaurs to Democracy", which chronicles the area's history.

The economy of the area is based on cotton, rice and maize production along the lake and on coffee and livestock in the west. Karongans are dependent on subsistence fishing.

Tumbuka is commonly used in Karonga for both home and school. Karonga is known as "an island of Tumbuka language and culture in a sea of Tumbuka and Ngonde people."