Geography of Madagascar

GEOGRAPHY OF MADAGASCAR

The Big Island of Madagascar is cuted from north to south by a mountain range with an altitude ranging from 1000m to 1500m in the malagasy highlands. From the highland to the west of Madagascar on the Mozambique Channel side is the largest, occupied by low-lying plains.

On the other hand, from the highland towards the East of Madagascar on the Indian Ocean side, occupied by cliffs abruptly flattened on the coasts.

Indeed, the Highland altitude towards the East and the West has created a catchment basin of Madagascar and almost all the rivers and streams of Madagascar flow either in the east coast part or the west coast part.

The north of Madagascar is volcanic from a culminating point on Tsaratanàna to 2876 m altitude which is the highest peak of Madagascar.

The south of Madagascar semi-arid is divided into three parts such as the Southwest, occupied by uplands of limestones, the South point, occupied by the dry plains and the Southeast, by the Anosyan chains.

All these geographical characteristics condition a wide choice of theme travel in Madagascar.

Location of Madagascar

Location of Madagascar

LOCATION OF MADAGASCAR

It was during the Cretaceous that the big island of Madagascar separated from Africa after the distribution of the great Gondwana continent.

If we talk about location of Madagascar, it is located in the southern hemisphere, in the Indian Ocean part and in the east of Africa. Madagascar is the fifth world largest island with a surface area of 587,295 km2 after Australia, Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo. The Big Island is part of the African continent and the Mozambique Channel separates Madagascar with East Africa about 400 km distance.

Madagascar’s is 1580kms from  the north to the south and between 500kms and 575kms width from the east to the west. The Big Island is surrounded by islands like the Comoros archipelago with 300kms distance to the northwest, Seychelles 1000kms north, Reunion Island 800kms east, Mauritius 868kms east and the scattered Islands of the Indian Ocean including Tromelin Island, Glorieurses Island, Juan de Nova Island and Europa Island.