How does the East African Rift Valley shape Malawi’s location?

The East African Rift Valley is the dominant physical feature of Malawi, defining its geography as a massive, troughlike depression that runs through the country from north to south.1

Rather than merely shaping the country's location, the rift valley serves as the central structural axis of the nation's landscape. It contains two primary water features that define the country's interior:1
* Lake Malawi: Occupying the northern and central portions of the rift within Malawi.1
* Shire River valley: Extending southward from the lake toward the border with Mozambique.1

The rift valley effectively divides the surrounding terrain, with the central plateaus rising to the west of the lake's littoral zone. This geological depression is part of a much larger 4,000-mile-long system that stretches across eastern Africa, with Malawi situated along the path where the rift continues southward toward the Indian Ocean.12