The largest straits of the earth. Which strait separates the island of Madagascar from Africa - Mozambique (1) or Gibraltar (2)? thank you in advance

mozambique channel- strait in the western part indian ocean separating Africa and the island of Madagascar. It is the longest strait on Earth.

The Mozambique Channel is located between the southeast coast of Africa (Mozambique) and the island of Madagascar. In the northern part of the strait are the Comoros. The islands of Ngazidja (Grand Comore), Ndzuani (Anjouan) and Mwali (Moheli) form the independent state of the Union of the Comoros; the islands of Mayotte, Ban du Geyser, Glorieuse, Juan de Nova, Europe, Bassas da India - overseas territories France. There are many islands scattered off the coasts of Mozambique and Madagascar volcanic origin, most of which are built on corals, look like coral atolls, under water near them are located Coral reefs. Small islands are usually uninhabited. underwater volcanoes characteristic of the relief of the bottom of the strait. In geomorphological terms, it belongs to the Mozambique and Madagascar ridges on the shelf of the African segment of the Indian Ocean. The space between these underwater ridges is dissected by individual uplifts and deep troughs, coinciding with fault zones, stretching mainly in the meridional direction. In the Mozambique Basin there is an underwater valley of the Zambezi River.

Spoiler:

About 165 million years ago, a part of it broke away from the African Platform, which then became the island of Madagascar. Where the island is now, it has been located for about 100 million years. The depression of the modern Indian Ocean began to form approximately 130-140 million years ago, at the junction of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, when the process of separation of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana into Africa with Arabia, Hindustan and Antarctica with Australia was basically completed. Finally, all the continents of the Earth were formed only at the end of the Cretaceous period, approximately 70-80 million years ago, but relative to the Mozambique Channel, its age can be determined quite confidently: at least 130 million years.

The southern trade wind current crosses the Indian Ocean from east to west towards Madagascar. Here it turns and branches into Mozambique and Madagascar. The current in the Mozambique Channel runs from north to south, its speed is from 0.9 to 1.8 km / h. The amplitude of tidal waves is from 2 to 5 m.

The fauna of the Mozambique Channel is typical of the Southern Tropical Belt of the Indian Ocean. There are sardinella, mackerel, anchovy, horse mackerel, reef and stone perch, tuna, dolphins, rays, sharks, giant sea turtles, sea snakes and flying fish, swordfish. At depths of more than 100 m, there is even a "living fossil" coelacanth - the oldest known to science a fish previously thought to be extinct. Tuna has the greatest commercial value, and among crustaceans - lobsters and shrimps. For flora coasts of the Mozambique Channel, in those areas where the tidal wave does not reach its maximum, mangroves are characteristic, favoring the reproduction of plankton, molluscs and crustaceans. It is known that up to 5% of endemic plant and animal species live in the Comoros and Madagascar, these are many species of lemurs, chameleons, orchids and other flowers. On Comoros, the most vegetated islands of the strait, up to 500 species of endemic plants are known. At the same time, there are no giraffes or elephants in Madagascar and Comoros. This biological riddle is partly answered by modern computer modeling of ocean currents that changed their direction many millions of years ago. And it turns out that small mammals and plant seeds could sail to the islands, like on rafts, on fragments of trees, coral atolls, but large ones could not. The rest was done by natural selection.

The International Geographical Union determines the boundaries of the Mozambique Channel according to very specific parameters. In the north - along the line from the mouth of the Ruvuma River, which flows into the Indian Ocean, through Cape Pak Habu of the Grand Comore Island, or Ngazidzha (the most north point Comoros), to the northern tip of Madagascar Cape d "Ambre. In the east, the strait washes West Coast Madagascar. In the south, the border runs from Ponte do Ouro in Mozambique to Cap Sainte Marie (the southern tip of Madagascar). West along east coast Mozambique.

About 80% of the population of the coasts and islands is employed in agriculture, and people here still mainly use the methods and means of traditional (and sometimes very ancient) agriculture, which makes their products absolutely environmentally friendly. Industry is represented exclusively by small and technically primitively equipped enterprises, which, of course, slows down their productivity, but preserves nature in all its originality. In addition, no one here knows and does not know what the press of globalization is. Tourism is not yet of serious economic importance, which, on the one hand, is also bad (people live rather poorly here), and on the other hand, it helps them keep their way of life safe and sound. One of its characteristic features is the combination of different cultures, or, speaking scientific language, - multiculturalism. In those areas the globe, where the interests of different powers and indigenous ethnic groups historically converged, multiculturalism is a typical phenomenon. Somewhere it is gradually leveled, and somewhere, on the contrary, each of the cultures is isolated. But in the area of the Mozambique Channel, the interpenetration of cultures as a process has been preserved, one might even say, has been mothballed, at a level close to the 15th-18th centuries. and even earlier.

The most typical example in this regard is the inhabitants of the Comoros, antoloatra, which is translated from the Comorian language, or kingazidzha (a mixture of Swahili and Arabic) as "people who" came from the sea ". The number of antoloater here is 95%. These are the descendants of the unions of Africans with Arabs, Malagasy and Europeans - the Portuguese, French and Dutch. The bizarre play of genes in different generations sometimes creates people not just exotic, but unique in appearance, unlike any classical ethnic type. Arabs, Chinese, Indians, Persians also live here.

As for Madagascar, the so-called island mentality is most clearly manifested there: all its inhabitants consider themselves Malagasy (Malgash), speak the Malagasy language of the Malayo-Polynesian family, but here, as in Comoros, you can meet mulattoes, as well as typical Africans, Indonesians, Arabs. Spiritual and everyday culture is connected with Africa, and with Southeast and South Asia, and with the insular Indonesian culture, and in different parts of the island these ties can manifest themselves in different ways: sometimes clearly, sometimes very remotely and vaguely. But the cult of the cow as a sacred animal came clearly from India.

The inhabitants of the coast of Mozambique, on the contrary, are distinguished by monoethnicity. 98% are the Bantu people, among the ethnic groups that migrated to the Comoros and Madagascar from the African continent, most of all it was the Bantu. In the II centuries. Bantu ousted the ancestors of modern Hottentots and Bushmen from the territory of present-day Mozambique, and these people settled here, according to archaeological excavations, in the Stone Age. Again, according to archaeological data, Madagascar was settled in the 3rd-5th centuries, Comoros - in the 5th century. Arabs arrived in Madagascar in the 7th century. In the XII century. Comoros fell under the rule of the Sultanate of Kilwa, Arab state in what is now Tanzania. The Portuguese, members of the Vasco da Gama expedition, reached Mozambique in 1498. At the beginning of the 17th century. Europeans also appeared in the Comoros and Madagascar.

The Mozambique Strait did not escape in the 17th-18th centuries. pirate period. The pirates were based mainly in the bays in the north of Madagascar and in the Comoros.

general information

Spoiler:

Strait between Africa and the island of Madagascar in the western Indian Ocean.
The largest rivers flowing into the strait: Mozambique - Ruvuma, Lurio, Zambezi, Limpopo, Savve; Madagascar - Sufia, Ciribihipa, Manguki, Unilahi.

The administrative affiliation of the water area of the strait: Mozambique, the Union of the Comoros, France, Madagascar.

The main ports of the coast: Mozambique - Pemba, Nacala, Quelimane, Beira, Maputo, Comoros - Moroni (Port-au-Butre, Grand Comore Island), Madagascar Island - Elville (Nosy Be Island), Mahajanga, Morondava, Tuliara.

Channel languages spoken: Portuguese (Mozambique), Comorian, French, Arabic (Comoros), Malagasy, French, English (Madagascar).

The most important airports: international - Maputo in Maputo (Mozambique), Moroni-Prince Said-Ibrahim in the city of Moroni (Grande Comore Island), Antananarivo-Ivato in the city of Antananarivo (Madagascar).

Numbers

Spoiler:

Length: about 1760 km.

Width: 422-1250 km.

Fairway depth: 117-4250 m, prevailing 1000-2000 m.

Salinity: 36% o.

Climate

Spoiler:

Subequatorial monsoon, formed by the southeast trade wind and South Indian anticyclone.

The rainy season is from November to March.

Average annual temperature: +23 - +28°С.

Average annual temperature surface water: +28°С.

Average annual rainfall: 1500-3000 mm.

On land, there is a risk of contracting malaria.

Economy

Spoiler:

Shipping.
Port industry and ship repair.
Fishing.
Economics of the coasts
In Mozambique, heavy metal deposits are being developed in the coastal region.
Agriculture: cultivation of sugar cane, tea, coffee, cassava (tapioca), cashews, corn, coconuts, bananas, cocoa beans, sisal, citrus fruits, sunflowers, tobacco, various spices (Madagascar and Comoros are major suppliers of vanilla, cloves, ylang-ylang), livestock and poultry.

Industry: production of vanilla and essential oils, soft drinks, ice cream, furniture, footwear and clothing, soap, cigarettes.

Service sector: tourism.

Attractions

Spoiler:

Mozambique

Ile de Mozambique: located 3 km from the coast, connected to it by a bridge. Northern part islands(Stone City) - object world heritage UNESCO. Here - Fort San Sebastian (XVI e.), Nossa Senhora de Bapuarte Chapel (1522) - the oldest building built by Europeans in the Southern Hemisphere, the palace and chapel of Sao Paulo (XVIII century) - museum ( furniture and decorations from Portugal, Arabia, India and China), a museum of sacred art, many churches, mosques, a Hindu temple.
Maputo: Maputo Fort (built by the Portuguese in 1781), Catholic Cathedral, National Art Museum, Museum natural history, designs by Gustave Eiffel - "Iron House" and building railway station(1910) Botanical Garden- Yardin Tunduru.
Beira: a Catholic cathedral built by the Portuguese in the early 20th century. The cathedral was built from the stones of the former Portuguese fortress of San Gaetano, founded here at the beginning of the 16th century. National marine park Bazaruto, 10 km from the coast.
The name of the city of Moroni is translated from the Comorian language as "in the heart of the fire" - the city is located at the foot of active volcano Kartala (height 2560 m, last eruption- 2007).
On the northwestern coast of Madagascar there is the Russian Bay, so named after the 2nd squadron of the Russian fleet under the command of Admiral 3. P. Rozhdestvensky, which then went to Tsushima and almost all died. The remains of a stone fortification wall erected by Russian sailors have been preserved.
The Arabs called the strait Al-Kumr, just like Madagascar.
French pirate Olivier Levasseur, who traded in the XVIII century. and in the Mozambique Channel, had a nickname: La Buze, which means Sarych. As this gentleman of fortune was being led to the scaffold, he called out, "Find my treasures, whoever can!" - and threw a cryptogram into the crowd, on which the location of the treasure is indicated. The cipher puzzle has not yet been solved. And there are many hunters to find the treasure, because, according to legend, this is the most valuable pirate treasure in the world. On the small Madagascar island of Nosy Be in the Mozambique Channel, they are sure that the valuables are here, but all searches have so far been unsuccessful. The same legend goes on the island of Mahe ( Seychelles). Levasseur was so famous, so vividly personified the image of a cruel pirate, that the writer Rafael Sabatini made him one of the characters in his famous novel"The Odyssey of Captain Blood", although the events in it take place before the real date of La Buse's birth.
Manta, or the largest of the rays, is nicknamed the "sea devil". The legends associated with this giant fish say that a manta can attack a diver, embracing its “wing” fins from above, and crush it to death, and then swallow it. But this is delusion. Real danger, which a manta can represent for a person, is if, after jumping out of the water, it falls on a boat, yacht or swimmer. The span of its “wings” is on average 2 m, but in especially large individuals it can reach 7 m, and its weight is 2 tons.

Education

What strait separates Madagascar from Africa? Madagascar: climate, population

February 7, 2015

What strait separates Madagascar from Africa? Mozambican, of course! This strait is considered the longest in the world, its current is very warm, which contributes to the formation of hot air masses over the island and the regions of Africa that are adjacent to it. Climatic conditions Madagascar range from humid equatorial to arid tropical. natural areas that are found here are deserts, and savannahs, and evergreen impenetrable jungles. Now we will consider in detail which strait separates the island of Madagascar from Africa, why it is remarkable and how it affects the lands that are adjacent to it.

General information about the strait

These waters are located in the western part of the Indian Ocean and wash the shores of East Africa and the islands of Madagascar. In the upper part of the strait are the Comoros, consisting of lands of volcanic origin. Many of them are “completed” with corals, the smallest ones are completely uninhabited. The length of this strait is as much as 1760 kilometers, and the width varies between 1250 - 422 kilometers. The most deep point Mozambique is located at a distance of 4250 meters from the surface of the water, but in most of the territory its depth reaches 2000 meters. The salinity of the water is about 36%.

History of education

Sarcastically speaking, even the dinosaurs that lived on the planet during the Jurassic period knew which strait separates the island of Madagascar from Africa. Approximately 165 million years ago, a piece of land broke away from the Gondwana supercontinent, which existed according to one of the theories, in the place where Africa is now located, which moved into the ocean and became the island of Madagascar. Thus, it has been in its place for more than 100 million years. And, most importantly, he doesn't move. The depression that separates this piece of land began to form at the junction of two periods - the Jurassic and Cretaceous, and gradually filled with salt water. At the same time, the rest of the continents also separated from Gondwana - Africa became independent, the features of Hindustan stood out, Australia "left" far to the east. All this happened about 70 million years ago. But at the same time, the Mozambique Channel has existed for 60 million years.

Weather conditions and climate

To understand which strait separates Madagascar from Africa - cold or warm, we will consider it climatic features. Most of winds - trade winds, comes here from the African continent. The strait lies in the subequatorial and tropical zone, therefore both dry and wet winds sweep over it. From the East, it is blown by the South Indian Anticyclone, which brings cooler air. The rains here begin in November and end in March, and the amount of precipitation is approximately 2000 mm per year. The air temperature does not change with the seasons and is approximately 25-28 degrees. The surface waters of Mozambique are also warming up to the same indicators.

The adjacent shores are the island of Madagascar, Africa. Descriptions of the nature of the regions

Mozambique washes two large shores: this is the country of the same name with it, which is located in Africa, and the island of Madagascar, where there is also an autonomous state. Both geographical feature lie in the humid subequatorial zone and in the tropics, and therefore the nature here is diverse. The coasts of Madagascar are covered with evergreen tropical jungle The climate there is very humid and hot. Over this area is formed maximum amount precipitation - up to 3000 mm, which fall mainly in winter time. In the depths of the island, forests turn into savannahs and deserts. Here, as on the continent, typical African animals are found: giraffes, zebras, elephants. The situation in Mozambique is about the same. Coastal tropical thickets turn into desert areas, which are blown by trade winds and are characterized by tropical storms.

Relief and coast of Madagascar

The island, separated from Africa by the Strait of Mazambique, has a varied relief. In the northern part coastline carved by rocks. The coast here is rocky, steep, swamps are very common. The northwest of Madagascar is characterized quiet bays where the shallows stretch for tens of miles. The water here warms up to a maximum at any time of the year. South part the islands are most suitable for beach holiday- flat steppes and a gentle entrance to the sea can be traced here. On the island there are mountains - Ankaratra. The heights they reach are 2500 m or more. Among the mountains meet extinct volcanoes, which, however, are still the cause of earthquakes.

Inhabitants of the coastal territories of the Mozambique Channel

Like the main continent - Africa - Madagascar is inhabited mainly by the Negroid race, mulattoes, mestizos and, in rare cases, Indians. But here it is worth highlighting that people settled in the state of Mozambique much earlier than on the island. They are characterized by a great commitment to African traditions and religions. Also, among them there are much more native negritos than among the inhabitants of Madagascar. On the same island, the mentality is represented by various cultures, ranging from typically African to South Asian.

Summarizing

We briefly considered which strait separates the island of Madagascar from Africa. We learned what kind of climate it is characterized by, when it was formed and what are its features. We also examined the island of Madagascar: where it is located, climate, population, relief and much more. It was possible to determine that in many respects the state of Mozambique and Madagascar are similar, but at the same time there are differences, especially for local residents, play a very significant role.

The Mozambique Channel is located between the southeast coast of Africa (Mozambique) and the island. In the northern part of the strait are. The islands of Ngazidja (Grand Comore), Ndzuani (Anjouan) and Mwali (Moheli) form the independent state of the Union of the Comoros; the islands of Mayotte, Band du Geyser, Glorieuse, Juan de Nova, Europe, Bassas da India are overseas territories of France. Near the coasts of Mozambique and Madagascar, many islands of volcanic origin are scattered, most of which are built on corals, look like coral atolls, and coral reefs are located under water near them. Small islands are usually uninhabited. Underwater volcanoes are also characteristic of the bottom relief of the strait. In geomorphological terms, it belongs to the Mozambique and Madagascar ridges on the shelf of the African segment of the Indian Ocean. The space between these underwater ridges is dissected by individual uplifts and deep troughs, coinciding with fault zones, stretching mainly in the meridional direction. In the Mozambique Basin there is an underwater valley of the Zambezi River.

The fauna of the Mozambique Channel is typical of the Southern Tropical Belt of the Indian Ocean. There are sardinella, mackerel, anchovy, horse mackerel, reef and stone perch, tuna, dolphins, rays, sharks, giant sea turtles, sea snakes and flying fish, swordfish. At depths of more than 100 m, even a “living fossil” of coelacanth is found - the oldest fish known to science, previously considered extinct. Tuna has the greatest commercial value, and among crustaceans - lobsters and shrimps. For the flora of the coasts of the Mozambique Channel, in those areas where the tidal wave does not reach its maximum, mangroves are characteristic, favoring the reproduction of plankton, mollusks and crustaceans. It is known that up to 5% of endemic plant and animal species live in the Comoros and Madagascar, these are many species of lemurs, chameleons, orchids and other flowers. On Comoros, the most vegetated islands of the strait, up to 500 species of endemic plants are known. At the same time, there are no giraffes or elephants in Madagascar and Comoros. This biological riddle is partly answered by modern computer modeling of ocean currents that changed their direction many millions of years ago. And it turns out that small mammals and plant seeds could sail to the islands, like on rafts, on fragments of trees, coral atolls, but large ones could not. The rest was done by natural selection.

The International Geographical Union determines the boundaries of the Mozambique Channel according to very specific parameters. In the north - along the line from the mouth of the Ruvuma River, which flows into the Indian Ocean, through Cape Pak Habu of the Grand Comore Island, or Ngazidzha (the northernmost point of the Comoros), to the northern tip of Madagascar, Cape Cap d'Ambre. In the east, the strait washes the western coast Madagascar In the south, the border runs from Ponte do Ouro in Mozambique to Cape Sainte Marie (the southern tip of Madagascar), and in the west along the east coast of Mozambique.

About 80% of the population of the coasts and islands is employed in agriculture, and people here still mainly use the methods and means of traditional (and sometimes very ancient) agriculture, which makes their products absolutely environmentally friendly. Industry is represented exclusively by small and technically primitively equipped enterprises, which, of course, slows down their productivity, but preserves nature in all its originality. In addition, no one here knows and does not know what the press of globalization is. Tourism is not yet of serious economic importance, which, on the one hand, is also bad (people live rather poorly here), and on the other hand, it helps them keep their way of life safe and sound. One of its characteristic features is the combination of different cultures, or, in scientific terms, multiculturalism. In those areas of the globe where the interests of different powers and indigenous ethnic groups have historically converged, multiculturalism is a typical phenomenon. Somewhere it is gradually leveled, and somewhere, on the contrary, each of the cultures is isolated. But in the area of the Mozambique Channel, the interpenetration of cultures as a process has been preserved, one might even say, has been mothballed, at a level close to the 15th-18th centuries. and even earlier.

The inhabitants of the coast of Mozambique, on the contrary, are distinguished by monoethnicity. 98% are the Bantu people, among the ethnic groups that migrated to the Comoros and Madagascar from the African continent, most of all it was the Bantu. IN II centuries Bantu ousted from the territory of present-day Mozambique the ancestors of modern Hottentots and Bushmen, and these people settled here, according to archaeological excavations, in the Stone Age. Again, according to archaeological data, Madagascar was inhabited in III- 5th century, Comoros - in the 5th century. Arabs arrived in Madagascar in the 7th century. In the XII century. The Comoros came under the rule of the Sultanate of Kilwa, an Arab state in what is now Tanzania. The Portuguese, members of the Vasco da Gama expedition, reached Mozambique in 1498. At the beginning of the 17th century. Europeans also appeared in the Comoros and Madagascar.

Did not escape the Mozambique Strait in XVII-XVIII centuries pirate period. The pirates were based mainly in the bays in the north of Madagascar and in the Comoros. It would seem that things are bygone days, but not later than in December 2010, Somali pirates attacked Russian and Indian tankers, following one after another, in the center of the strait. The Russians got away from the attack thanks to maneuvers, the Indians opened fire.

general information

Strait between Africa and the island of Madagascar in the western Indian Ocean.

Major rivers flowing into the strait: Mozambique - Ruvuma, Lurio, Zambezi, Limpopo, Savve; Madagascar - Sufia, Ciribihipa, Manguki, Unilahi.

Administrative affiliation of the water area of the strait: Mozambique, Union of the Comoros, France, Madagascar.

Main ports of the coast: Mozambique - Pemba, Nacala, Quelimane, Beira, Maputo, Comoros - Moroni (Port-au-Butre, Grand Comore Island), Madagascar - Elville (Nosy Be Island), Mahajanga, Morondava, Touliara.

Languages spoken by the inhabitants of the shores of the strait: Portuguese (Mozambique), Comorian, French, Arabic (Comoros), Malagasy, French, English (Madagascar).

Major airports: international - Maputo in Maputo (Mozambique), Moroni-Prince Said-Ibrahim in the city of Moroni (Grand Comore Island), Antananarivo-Ivato in the city of Antananarivo (Madagascar).

Numbers

Length: about 1760 km.

Width: 422-1250 km.

Fairway depth: 117-4250 m, prevailing 1000-2000 m.

Salinity : 36% o.

Climate and weather

Subequatorial monsoon, formed by the southeast trade wind and South Indian anticyclone.

The rainy season is from November to March.

Average annual temperature: +23 - +28°С.

Average annual surface water temperature: +28°С.

Average annual rainfall: 1500-3000 mm.

On land, there is a risk of contracting malaria.

Economy

Industry: production of vanilla and essential oils, soft drinks, ice cream, furniture, footwear and clothing, soap, cigarettes.

Service sector: tourism.

Attractions

Mozambique
■ Ile de Mozambique: located 3 km from the coast, connected to it by a bridge. The northern part of the island (Stone Town) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here - Fort San Sebastian (XVI e.), Nossa Senhora de Bapuarte Chapel (1522) - the oldest building built by Europeans in the Southern Hemisphere, the palace and chapel of Sao Paulo (XVIII century) - museum ( furniture and decorations from Portugal, Arabia, India and China), a museum of sacred art, many churches, mosques, a Hindu temple.
■ Maputo: Fort Maputo (built by the Portuguese in 1781), Catholic Cathedral, National Art Museum, Museum of Natural History, Gustave Eiffel's projects - "Iron House" and the railway station building (1910), botanical garden - Yardin-Tunduru.
■ beira: a Catholic cathedral built by the Portuguese in the early 20th century. The cathedral was built from the stones of the former Portuguese fortress of San Gaetano, founded here at the beginning of the 16th century. Bazaruto National Marine Park, 10 km from the coast. Comoros
■ Grand Comore (Ngazidja) - Moroni city: Medina, Vedredi mosque, Volovolo bazaar, Isandra village - Sultan's fortress of the 16th-17th centuries. the beaches of Buni, Fumbuni; Njuani - nature, the city of Mutsamudu - the palace of the Sultan, a mosque and houses of the 17th century, the city of Domoni - the ruins of the sultan's palaces of the 16th-18th centuries.
Madagascar
■ National parks Ankaranfacika, Montagne d "Amber.

Curious facts

■ The name of the city of Moroni is translated from the Comorian language as "in the heart of fire" - the city is located at the foot of the active volcano Kartala (altitude 2560 m, last eruption - 2007).
■ On the northwestern coast of Madagascar there is the Russian Bay, so named after the 2nd squadron of the Russian fleet under the command of Admiral 3. P. Rozhdestvensky, which then went to Tsushima and almost all died here from January 9 to March 16, 1905 . The remains of a stone fortification wall erected by Russian sailors have been preserved.

■ The Arabs called the strait Al-Kumr, as well as Madagascar.
■ French pirate Olivier Levasseur, who traded in the XVIII century. and in the Mozambique Channel, had a nickname: La Buze, which means Sarych. As this gentleman of fortune was being led to the scaffold, he called out, "Find my treasures, whoever can!" - and threw a cryptogram into the crowd, on which the location of the treasure is indicated. The cipher puzzle has not yet been solved. And there are many hunters to find the treasure, because, according to legend, this is the most valuable pirate treasure in the world. On the small Madagascar island of Nosy Be in the Mozambique Channel, they are sure that the valuables are here, but all searches have so far been unsuccessful. The same legend goes on the island of Mahe (Seychelles). Levasseur was so famous, so vividly personified the image of a cruel pirate, that the writer Rafael Sabatini made him one of the characters in his famous novel The Odyssey of Captain Blood, although the events in it take place before the real date of La Buse's birth.
■ Manta, or the largest of the rays, is nicknamed the "sea devil." The legends associated with this giant fish say that a manta can attack a diver, embracing its “wing” fins from above, and crush it to death, and then swallow it. But this is delusion. The real danger that a manta ray can pose to a person is if, after jumping out of the water, it falls on a boat, yacht or swimmer. The span of its “wings” is on average 2 m, but in especially large individuals it can reach 7 m, and its weight is 2 tons.

MOZAMBIQUE STRAIT

Mozambique Channel

(Mozambique Channel), between Africa and the island Madagascar , in app. parts indian ocean . The longest strait of the World Ocean is 1,760 km; its width is 422–1,250 km; the depth of the navigable part is 117–4,250 m; Comoros, along the coast there are many small islands and reefs. Wednesday century mastered by the Arabs. Known to Europeans since the end of the 15th century. Main ports - Mozambique, Beira, Shinde, etc. on the African coast and Elville, Mahajanga, Morondava, Tuliara on about. Madagascar. The Mozambique Current flows south at a speed of 0.5–1.0 knots (0.9–1.8 km/h). Tides up to 5 m.

Dictionary of modern geographical names. - Yekaterinburg: U-Factoria. Under the general editorship of Acad. V. M. Kotlyakova. 2006 .

Mozambique Channel

between the island of Madagascar and Africa, in the Indian Ocean. Length 1760 km, least latitude. 422 km, the smallest depth. on the fairway 117 m. The current is directed to the main. From north to south, the coasts are low-lying, indented, forming bays and gulfs. The tides are semi-diurnal, reaching 1.8–5.0 m near the coast. Zambezi, Limpopo. The development of beach offshore deposits of heavy metals, fishing is underway. Ports: Mozambique, Beira, Maputo (Mozambique), Touliara, Mahatzanga (Madagascar).

Geography. Modern illustrated encyclopedia. - M.: Rosman. Under the editorship of prof. A. P. Gorkina. 2006 .

See what "MOZAMBIQUE STRAIT" is in other dictionaries:

Mozambique Channel ... Wikipedia

MOZAMBIQUE STRAIT, in the Indian Ocean, between the island of Madagascar and Africa. Length 1760 km, minimum width 422 km, minimum fairway depth 117 m ... Modern Encyclopedia

Between about. Madagascar and Africa. OK. 1760 km, minimum width 422 km, minimum depth in the fairway 117 m ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

mozambique channel- MOZAMBIQUE STRAIT, in the Indian Ocean, between the island of Madagascar and Africa. Length 1760 km, minimum width 422 km, minimum fairway depth 117 m. ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Between the island of Madagascar and Africa. About 1760 km, the smallest width is 422 km, the smallest depth in the fairway is 117 m. Madagascar and Africa. Length approx. 1760 km (the longest strait in the world), ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

The strait between Madagascar and Africa. It is about 1,670 km long, up to 925 km wide, and more than 3,000 m deep in the north and south, and about 2,400 m in the middle. Ports: Mozambique,… … Great Soviet Encyclopedia

mozambique channel- Mozambique Channel, the strait between about. Madagascar and Africa in the Indian Ocean. Length 1760 km, minimum width 422 km, minimum depth 117 m. Ports: Mozambique, Beira (Mozambique), Mahajanga (Madagascar) ... Encyclopedic reference book "Africa"

A; m. Narrow body of water, separating land areas and connecting water bodies (seas, lakes, etc.) or parts of them. Kerch p. Beringov p. Cross the p. Exit to the p. * * * The strait is a relatively narrow body of water separating any ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Kerch Strait. View from the Crimean coast. A strait is a body of water located between two land areas and connecting adjacent water basins or parts of them ... Wikipedia

A relatively narrow area of water that separates any land areas and connects water basins or parts of them. Usually, according to the hydrological regime, the straits are somewhat different from adjacent water bodies, which is explained by the peculiarities of the latter, and ... Geographic Encyclopedia

Straits are narrow spaces of water that connect water areas or separate land. However, these are not necessarily small objects, and the Mozambique Channel is a vivid confirmation of this.

This strait is the largest on the planet, since its length is more than 1700 kilometers, while the width varies from 400 to 1200 kilometers. Because of such elongated parameters, sailors call it the “Waist of the World Ocean”.

Shipping here is very active, and not only by African standards, but also by world standards. Also, the local waters are teeming with fish, because the current is warm, and the amount of plankton is huge.

Thinking about where the Mozambique Strait is located on the map, one should imagine southeast coast Africa, near which there is large island Madagascar with its capital * Antananarivo * and so the very water area that separates these land areas is the desired strait.

Northern and southern waters very deep, the depth is about 3 kilometers, in the middle of the strait this figure is less - a little more than 2 kilometers. The current is characteristic in the direction from north to south, the speed of which is almost always the same and is about one and a half knots. Tides can reach five meters.

Coastal landscapes are picturesque:

the most delicate sand;
charming hills;
amazing panoramas;
exceptional nature.

In the Mozambique Channel there are special, rare living creatures:

coelacanth - the oldest fish that lived before dinosaurs;
manta rays are the largest rays.

In general, here the fauna is similar to the living world and the Indian-ocean tropical belt, are numerous here:

Attracted by such diversity, divers can meet other inhabitants:

sea snakes;
swordfish;
huge turtles;
flying fish.

On those coasts where the tides are not maximum, there are mangroves, which are the best environment for molluscs, plankton and crustaceans.

In addition to Madagascar, there are also Comoros, all these areas are characterized unique world nature - about 5% of all its representatives are endemic, among them:

orchids;
lemurs;
chameleons.

It is especially distinguished by the richness of its own flora, about five hundred local plants are endemic.

This area was formed under the influence of ancient volcanic activity, so many islands have a similar origin. From above long time they were covered with coral, turning into atolls. Most of the small areas of land that protrude above ocean water are uninhabited.

At the bottom there are a lot of volcanoes. The strait itself belongs to the ridges (Mozambique and Madagascar) of the African segment of the shelf in the Indian Ocean. Moreover, between these ridges there is a space with hollows and faults. Here is the underwater part of the river valley. Zambezi.

It is believed that life on the islands, which is rich in the Mozambique Channel, mainly came from the mainland, and some small animals or plant seeds got here by water - sailing on trees. At least, this is how scientists explain why there are no large mammals, such as giraffes.

Mozambique channel on the world map

In world geography, there is a clear answer to the question of where the Mozambique Strait is located on the map, and even its borders are indicated:

northern - a line drawn through the mouth of the river. Ruvuma, Cape Pak Habu and extreme northern cape Madagascar (Cap d'Ambre);
southern - a line drawn through the Mozambique Ponte do Ouro and extreme southern cape Madagascar (Cap Sainte Marie);
eastern - western Madagascar coast;
western - eastern Mozambique coast.

All this is located east of Africa, in the western Indian Ocean. In addition to Madagascar, this strait washes such smaller islands:

Union of the Comoros (Ngazidja, Ndzuani, Mwali);
overseas French territories (Bassas da India, Juan de Nova, Mayotte, Glorieuse, Europe, Band du Geyser);
small uninhabited islands.

A significant part of the people living on these coasts is engaged in agriculture, operating with traditional methods of agriculture. This affects the manufactured goods, which are completely environmentally friendly. There are very few industrial facilities here, which allows nature to remain untouched.

Tourism is just as underdeveloped, which is negative for the economy, but positive for the environment.

This area of the Earth is characterized by the accumulation of different cultures, which is associated with the influence of all kinds of powers in different periods of history. This phenomenon is now manifesting itself in the same way as in the 15-18 centuries, when the colonization of Africa was most active.

The Comoros is almost entirely inhabited by "people who come from the sea", who are called antoloatras. They formed an extraordinary people, descended from all sorts of nationalities and races, mixed with such blood:

African;
Arabic;
European;
Malagasy.

The history of this region is also associated with the active activity of pirates who hunted here in the 17-18 centuries, however, modern sailors carefully study where the Mozambique Channel is located on the maps, since now such tricks can happen here.