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Geography of Madagascar
Isalo National Park
At 587,000 square kilometres (227,000 sq mi), Madagascar is the world’s 46th-largest country and the fourth largest island. It is slightly bigger than France, and is one of 11 distinct physiographic provinces of the South African Platform physiographic division.
Towards the east, a steep escarpment leads from the central highlands down into a ribbon of rain forest with a narrow coastal further east. The Canal des Pangalanes is a chain of natural and man-made lakes connected by canals that runs parallel to the east coast for some 460 km (286 mi) (about two-thirds of the island). The descent from the central highlands toward the west is more gradual, with remnants of deciduous forest and savanna-like plains (which in the south and southwest, are quite dry and host spiny desert and baobabs). On the west coast are many protected harbours, but silting is a major problem caused by sediment from the high levels of erosion inland.
Along the crest of this ridge lie the central highlands, a plateau region ranging in altitude from 2,450 to 4,400 ft (747 to 1,341 m) above sea level. The central highlands are characterised by terraced, rice-growing valleys lying between barren hills. Here, the red laterite soil that covers much of the island has been exposed by erosion, showing clearly why the country is often referred to as the “Red Island”.
The island’s highest peak, Maromokotro, at 2,876 metres (9,440 ft), is found in the Tsaratanana Massif, located in the far north of the country. The Ankaratra Massif is in the central area south of the capital Antananarivo and hosts the third highest mountain on the island, Tsiafajavona, with an altitude of 2,642 metres (8,670 ft). Further south is the Andringitra massif which has several peaks over 2,400 metres (7,900 ft) including the second and fourth highest peaks, Pic Imarivolanitra, more widely known as Pic Boby (2,658 metres/8,720 feet), and Pic Bory (2,630 metres/8,600 feet). Other peaks in the massif include Pic Soaindra (2,620 metres/8,600 feet) and Pic Ivangomena (2,556 metres/8,390 feet). This massif also contains the Andringitra Reserve. On very rare occasions, this region experiences snow in winter due to its high altitude.
There are two seasons: a hot, rainy season from November to April, and a cooler, dry season from May to October. South-eastern trade winds predominate, and the island occasionally experiences cyclones.
Ecology
Tsingy in Madagascar
Madagascar’s long isolation from the neighboring continents has resulted in a unique mix of plants and animals, many found nowhere else in the world; some ecologists refer to Madagascar as the “eighth continent”. Of the 10,000 plants native to Madagascar, 90% are found nowhere else in the world. Madagascar’s varied fauna and flora are endangered by human activity, as a third of its native vegetation has disappeared since the 1970s, and only 18% remains intact. Since the arrival of humans 2000 years ago, Madagascar has lost more than 90% of its original forest. The elephant birds, which were giant ratites native to Madagascar, have been extinct since at least the 17th century. Aepyornis was the world’s largest bird, believed to have been over 3 metres (10 ft) tall.
Most lemurs are listed as endangered or threatened species. Many species have gone extinct in the last centuries, mainly due to habitat destruction and hunting.
The eastern, or windward side of the island is home to tropical rainforests, while the western and southern sides, which lie in the rain shadow of the central highlands, are home to tropical dry forests, thorn forests, and deserts and xeric shrublands. Madagascar’s dry deciduous rain forest has been preserved generally better than the eastern rainforests or the high central plateau, presumably due to historically low population densities. Madagascar has several national parks.
The Indri is 1 of 99 recognized species and subspecies of lemur found only in Madagascar.
Extensive deforestation has taken place in parts of the country, some due to mining operations. Slash-and-burn activity, locally called tavy, has occurred in the eastern and western dry forests as well as on the central high plateau, reducing certain forest habitat and applying pressure to some endangered species. Slash-and-burn is a method sometimes used by shifting cultivators to create short-term yields from marginal soils. When practiced repeatedly without intervening fallow periods, the nutrient-poor soils may be exhausted or eroded to an unproductive state. The resulting increased surface runoff from burned lands has caused significant erosion and resulting high sedimentation to western rivers.
As a part of conservation efforts, the Wildlife Conservation Society has recently opened a Madagascar! exhibit at the Bronx Zoo. The New York Academy of Sciences recently published a Podcast about the Madagascar! exhibit, which details the fauna and flora of Madagascar and what types of projects the WCS is involved with in the country.
Madagascar is represented in the FIPS 10-4 geographical encoding standard by the symbol MA.
