West of the Great Rift Valley, the land forms high plateaus, plateaus rise generally 3,000 to 4,000 feet (914 to 1,219 m) above sea level. In the north, the Nyika Uplands rise as high as 8,000 feet (2,438 m). The area to the west of the lake in northern and central Malawi has been categorised by the World Wildlife Fund as part of the Central Zambezian miombo woodlands ecoregion.