Physico-geographical position of the island of Madagascar methodical development. Madagascar map in Russian. capital of madagascar, flag, history of the country. where is madagascar on the world map

A strait 370-1000 kilometers wide.

Length of Madagascar Island: Maximum length(from Cape Amber 11° 58` S to Cape St. Mary 25° 35` S) 1,625 kilometers.

Width of the island of Madagascar: average width 500 kilometers.

Island surface area: is 591,563 square kilometers, thus Madagascar is the fourth largest island on the globe.

History of Madagascar

Madagascar, among the natives it is called “Nossi-Ndambo”, that is, “Boar Island”, among the neighboring islanders - “Tani-be”, that is, “ Big land”, among the Arabs - “Jeziret el-Komr”, which means “Moon Land”, was discovered on February 2, 1506 by Fernando Saares and since then has long been called the “Island of the Saint”, while the ancient French settlers called it “Dauphin” . The Dutch and the British made futile attempts to establish themselves in Madagascar, while the French company Societe de l`Orient managed to establish a settlement near St. Lucia Bay in the southeast of the island, later transferred to the Tolangaru Peninsula, where Fort Dauphine was built. In 1672 he was abandoned.

New settlements founded in the second half of the 18th century did not last long. Only the intervention of the British, who, with the help of Gove, tried to establish a firm foot on Madagascar, led the French to vigorously set about conquering the island. Through agreements with native leaders, in 1841 they received Nossi-Be and several neighboring islands. The main obstacle to the establishment of Europeans in Madagascar since 1830 was the state of Gowa founded by King Radama the First. England in 1865 concluded an agreement with Queen Razogerina, by which she promised the abolition of poison testing and the complete destruction of the slave trade. All the rights that the treaty would give the English were to be transferred to other nations. Her heiress, Ranavalona II, was baptized in 1869 along with for the most part nobility. She was succeeded in 1883 by her niece, Ranavalona III. The rejection of a proposal to recognize a French protectorate over the eastern coast of Madagascar led in 1883 to hostilities, which began with the French occupation of Tamatava and the blockade of the eastern coast, and continued without much success from the French until February 1886. Under the peace treaty, external affairs were placed under the control of the French resident in Tananarive, while internal affairs were wholly left to the queen. Foreigners were not even given the right to acquire ownership of land. The harbor of Diego Suarez was ceded to the French, which was administratively connected to Nossi Be and Saint Marie and subordinated to the governor. The peace made it possible to more easily explore the interior of the island, begun even before the war by the traveler Grandidier (1868-69). IN modern times Cala and Maistre (1889-90) repeatedly visited the island and especially got acquainted with its southern part (cf. "Le Tour du Monde" 1893, vol. LXV, 1-64), Gauthier, Brisson and Dulio - with the western. The lack of certainty of the position of the French on the island forced at the end of 1894 to develop a plan new expedition to the island. General Duchenne was put at the head of the expedition, who, despite the severe damage in people from the climate and poor economic administration, on September 30, 1895, managed to take main city govasov, Tananarivo, where the queen was taken prisoner. On October 1, 1895, a peace treaty was signed that retained her official position for the queen, but turned the island into a French colony.


Madagascar- an island-state in the Western Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa.

Madagascar was settled by man relatively late, only in the II-V centuries AD. settlers came to the island opposite side Indian Ocean. These were representatives of the Australian and Polynesian peoples. A little later, the Bantu people, who arrived on the island from Africa, settled on the West Bank of the island.

In the 7th century, the Arabs attempted to colonize Madagascar, however, neither they nor their religion, Islam, took root on the island.
Madagascar got its name thanks to the famous Venetian traveler Marco Polo, who in his notes mentioned the island of countless treasures - Madeigascar.

The first European visited the island in 1500 - it was Portuguese navigator Diogo Dias, who lost his way while sailing to India.
Madagascar had strategic importance for spice merchants, forced to go around all of Africa to deliver Indian goods to Europe. Therefore, the largest European powers England and France repeatedly tried to gain a foothold on the island, but the difficult climate and warlike natives brought all their efforts to naught.
In the 17th century, Madagascar, where there were no colonial authorities, became the center of piracy and the slave trade.

In 1774, the Slovak adventurer Moritz Benevsky landed in Madagascar along with a small military detachment. sent him to the island french king Louis XV, who decided to conquer such a tasty piece of land. Moritz did not meet much resistance, and in 1776 the local tribes elected him their king. Benevsky soon began to show excessive independence, funding for his government from France ceased, and the Slovak was forced to return to Europe.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the gelding tribe, who lived in the center of the island, suddenly became more active in Madagascar. In 1818, the king of the gelding Radama I became the king of all Madagascar. His dynasty ruled the island until 1896, when Queen Ranavaluna III was overthrown by French troops.

During the Second World War in 1942, Madagascar was occupied by the British military, protecting it from the combined Japanese-French (Vichy) army. In 1943 the island was handed over to de Gaulle's government. And after 4 years, an uprising broke out in Madagascar against the colonists, which was brutally suppressed. However, France had to grant independence to the island in 1958, however, the protectorate of the former metropolis over the colony remained for a couple more years.

From 1975 to 1990, a socialist government worked in Madagascar, which was under the influence of the USSR. With the collapse of the latter, the processes of democratization of society and liberalization of the economy began on the island.
In March 2009, a military coup took place in Madagascar, which was condemned by the United States and several others. Western countries. In November 2010, an attempted counter-coup took place, but it failed.

Consider the island of Madagascar and make a description of its relief.

Madagascar island

It is an island-state located in Indian Ocean off the east coast of the African continent. The island is separated from Africa Mozambique Channel. It is the fourth largest island in the world. Its area is 587 thousand square kilometers.

The island was formed 88 million years ago, separated from India. Back in 350 B.C. the island began to be settled by the first people arriving by canoe.

The greatest length of the island, from Cape Amber to Cape St. Mary, is 1625 kilometers, and its average latitude is 500 kilometers.

Features of the island characterizes:

  • coastline;
  • rivers and lakes of the island;
  • relief and soil;
  • climate;
  • minerals.

Compose a description of the relief of the island of Madagascar

IN central area the islands are located mountain ranges, are represented by the Ankaratra mountains. The peaks of the mountains in many places of the massif reach two and a half kilometers or more. The very soil of the massif was formed from granite and gneiss. This massif stretches to the south of the island in the form of mountain ranges having average height about one thousand five hundred meters.

To the east along river valleys and swampy lowlands separate from the lower mountain range that runs parallel to the coastline of the island. This low Mountain chain consists of red clay and is of Mesozoic origin.

From time to time, earthquakes occur on the island, which indicates the underground activity of the platform. A extinct volcanoes the islands speak of the former volcanic activity on the island.

The northwestern part of the island is distinguished by a particularly uneven coastline, which served as the formation of bays - Bombetoke and Narinda. And Antogillo Bay, on the northeastern part of the island. From the side northwest coast small islands are located - Nossi-Kumba and Nossi-Be.

The coasts in the north are rocky and surrounded by coral reefs, and the coastline itself is swampy and the lowest. In the southern part there is a steppe plain, this is the least mountainous part of the island.

The east coast of Madagascar is represented by a narrow strip of lowlands. On west coast islands, the lowlands are much wider, with a clear transition to the mountains. Between the coasts there is a dissected highland. highest mountain on the territory of the island - Marumukutru, with a height of 2876 meters is located in its northern part. The average heights of the uplands are from 1200 to 1500 meters. Eastern edge the highlands are noticeably higher and closer to the shore. The western coast of the island is strongly indented by numerous bays.

Madagascar - great place rest for lovers of the exotic, a beautiful tropical island, almost unknown to tourists, similar to a continent, where the temperature is around 25ºС all year round. Amazingly beautiful beaches on the shores of the Indian Ocean, National parks, inexpensive service. Best time to travel here - from April to March (at this time here southern winter), it is better not to get to the east coast in June and September, you can go to the center of the country in the summer (from November to March). It rains mainly from October to May.

Madagascar is the fourth largest island on our planet after Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo. The size of Spain and Portugal or France and Belgium combined. It is located in the Indian Ocean, separated from the African continent by 400 km of the Gulf of Mozambique. Unlike its "volcanic" neighbors, Mauritius and Reunion, Madagascar is a non-volcanic island that broke away from Africa about 165 million years ago as a result of continental drift. It can be considered a continent, as there are unique species of animals and plants. Madagascar is called one of the richest countries in terms of nature in the world. There are up to 90% of lemur species here, which is why Madagascar is called the "island of lemurs", as well as half of the chameleon population. Many animal species are found only in Madagascar. The island lies in the tropical zone, baobabs grow here, which grow almost nowhere else in the world, more than 1000 species of orchids. Rice, coffee, tobacco, vanilla, and sugar cane are grown here. Guides "give five stars" unique nature islands.

Madagascar Island: photos

Local residents, Madagascar

Madagascar Island: where is it located

Madagascar - an island in the Indian Ocean, lies parallel to the eastern coast of Africa, separated from it by the Mozambique Channel, 370-1000 kilometers wide. The greatest length of the island (from Cape Amber 11° 58` S to Cape St. Mary 25° 35` S) is 1,625 kilometers. The average width is 500 kilometers. With a surface area of ​​591,563 square kilometers, Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world.

Madagascar island on world map

How to get to Madagascar Island

Direct flights from Moscow to Antananarivo operate quite irregularly. The easiest way is to fly to Paris with a flight of any airline, then by flights Air companies France or Air Madagascar to Antananarivo (flight time 11-13 hours). There are regular air routes between Madagascar and Comoros, Kenya, Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles and Tanzania.

International cruise ships flying in the Indian and western parts Pacific Oceans, regularly stop at the port of Toamasina. The island is also connected to the mainland by many small coasters operating without any schedule.

Madagascar Island: video

A bit of Madagascar...

Acquaintance with the nature of Madagascar