MADAGASCAR

Madagascar, island country lying off the southeastern coast of Africa. Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world, after Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo. Although located some 250 miles (400 km) from the African continent, Madagascar’s population is primarily related not to African peoples but rather to those of Indonesia, more than 3,000 miles (4,800 km) to the east. The Malagasy peoples, moreover, do not consider themselves to be Africans, but, because of the continuing bond with France that resulted from former colonial rule, the island developed political, economic, and cultural links with the French-speaking countries of western Africa. The animal life and vegetation of the island are equally anomalous, differing greatly from that of nearby Africa and being in many respects unique. Although the coastlands have been known to Europeans for more than 400 years and to Arabs for much longer, recent historical development has been more intense and concentrated in the central plateau, which contains the capital city of Antananarivo (formerly Tananarive).

Madagascar consists of three parallel longitudinal zones—the central plateau, the coastal strip in the east, and the zone of low plateaus and plains in the west.
Situated between 2,500 and 4,500 feet (800 and 1,400 metres) above sea level, the plateau has been uplifted and worn down several times and is tilted to the west. Three massifs are more than 8,500 feet (2,600 metres) high. The Tsaratanana region in the north is separated from the rest of the plateau by the Tsaratanana Massif, whose summit, Maromokotro, reaches 9,436 feet (2,876 metres) and is the highest point on the island. Ankaratra Massif in the centre is an enormous volcanic mass whose summit, Tsiafajavona, is 8,671 feet (2,643 metres) high. Ankaratra is a major watershed divide separating three main river basins. Farther south, Andringitra is a vast granite massif north of Telangaro (Faradofay); it rises to 8,720 feet (2,658 metres) at Boby Peak.

The plateau slopes with some regularity toward the extreme southern plain, but its boundaries to the east and west are more abrupt. To the east it descends in a sharp fault, by vertical steps of 1,000 to 2,000 feet (300 to 600 metres). This cliff, which is called the Great Cliff or the Cliff of Angavo, is often impassable and is itself bordered by the Betsimisaraka Escarpment, a second and lower cliff to the east, which overhangs the coastal plain. Behind the scarp face are the remains of ancient lakes, including one called Alaotra. To the south the two steep gradients meet and form the Mahafaly and the Androy plateaus, which overhang the sea in precipitous cliffs. Toward the west the descent is made in a series of steps. However, in places the central plateau is bordered by an impassable escarpment, such as the Cliff of Bongolava in the west-central part of the island. To the extreme north the plateau is bordered by the low belt of the Ambohitra Mountains, which include a series of volcanic craters.

The coastal strip has an average width of about 30 miles (50 km). It is a narrow alluvial plain that terminates in a low coastline bordered with lagoons linked together by the Pangalanes (Ampangalana) Canal, which is more than 370 miles (600 km) long. To the south of Farafangana the coast becomes rocky, and in the southeast there occur many little bays. To the northeast is the deep Bay of Antongil (Antongila).

The western zone is between 60 and 125 miles (100 and 200 km) wide. Its sedimentary layers slope toward the Mozambique Channel and produce a succession of hills. The inland (eastern) side of these steep hills dominates the hollows formed in the soft sediments of the interior, while the other side descends to the sea in rocky slopes. The coastline is straight, bordered by small dunes and fringed with mangroves. The currents in the Mozambique Channel have favoured the offshore deposit of alluvium and the growth of river deltas. On the northwestern coast there are a number of estuaries and bays. This coast is bordered by coral reefs and volcanic islands, such as Nosy Be (Nossi-Be), which protects Ampasindava Bay.