home General issues Madagascar is the largest island in Africa. The largest island in Africa The largest island off the coast of Africa

Madagascar is the largest island in Africa. The largest island in Africa The largest island off the coast of Africa

Madagascar is the largest island off the coast of Africa and in the entire Indian Ocean. Very often it is called a kind of miniature continent. This is because its flora and fauna are very different from those found on the African continent. Many of their representatives are found only here. Moreover, local landscapes are unique and are not repeated anywhere else on the planet. Several thousand years ago it was part of a huge continent known as Gondwana, which eventually split apart. As a result of this, Africa, Antarctica and Madagascar itself were formed. Now the most big Island Africa is separated from the main continent by the Mozambique Strait, whose width is about 300 kilometers.

The local landscape is diverse. Most of The territory is a plateau. In some areas it rises above sea level to a height of up to 2876 meters. Not far from the city of Antananarivo are the Ancaratro Mountains, whose maximum height is 2643 meters. Africa also boasts its fertile plains. They are located on the west and east coasts. All local rivers flow into the Mozambique Channel and flow from east to west. Although there are not many of them, they annually attract a huge number of tourists with the abundance of their waterfalls and picturesque landscapes.

The best time To visit the largest island in Africa, the period is considered to be from March to April. It is recommended to go to the central part from November to March. This is due to the specifics of the local climate. The fact is that there are wet and dry seasons. On east coast There are almost always showers, and strong trade winds lead to rain jets flying almost horizontally, so no awnings or umbrellas can protect you from them. The average winter temperature is 16 and summer - 34 degrees Celsius.

The Democratic Republic of Madagascar, which was formed as a result of a military coup in 1975, occupies not only this large African island, but also several small ones nearby. The area of the country is just over 587 thousand km 2. The population of the state exceeds 14 million people. Most of them live in the most major cities, including the above-mentioned Antananarivo, as well as Tulear, Toamasina, Mahajanga, Fianarantsoa and others. There are two official languages in the republic - French and Merina (one of the dialects of Malagasy). The country is led by the president, and the head of government is the prime minister.

The first European to visit the largest island in Africa on August 10, 1500 was the Portuguese Diego Diaz. In the new lands, travelers were engaged in robberies and murders, so as soon as they set off towards India, the local population breathed a sigh of relief. Much to his regret, six years later the next European expedition arrived on the island. Its representatives were not very different from their predecessors, so most of the adult inhabitants of Madagascar were destined to become slaves. At different times, the Portuguese, French and British tried to gain a foothold here. The island became self-governing in 1896. It was granted self-government in 1958 and declared independence in 1960.

Currently, Madagascar is a member of many world organizations, including the IMF, UN, WHO and others.

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Amorphophallus titanica|lat. Amorphophallus titanum
(“Plates”)

Kingdom - Plants;
Department - Angiosperms;
Class - Monocots;
Order - Partichumous;
Family - Araceae;
Genus - Amorphophallus;
Species - Amorphophallus titanica.

The largest flower in the world is called Amorphophallus titanum.
This giant flower comes from the forests of the island of Sumatra. Its dimensions are impressive - the height of the plant can be more than 2.5 meters, the length of the leaf is up to five meters.
underground tuber large sizes and can reach fifty kilograms.
The largest flower in the world was discovered in 1878, it has several names - devil's tongue, corpse flower, Voodoo lily, snake palm, umbrella palm, leopard palm and others.
In the plant's homeland, Indonesia and Sumatra, it is called "Bunga bangkai", which literally means "corpse flower".
This amazing plant lives up to forty years, while it blooms only three to four times.
Flowering lasts up to two weeks, while the ear of the plant heats up to forty degrees. At the same time, the flower emits a strong “aroma” of rotten eggs and rotting fish, thereby attracting insects for pollination.
Initially, amorphophallus titanica grew only in the forests of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, but the people who came there practically exterminated it. Now this rare flower is bred mainly in greenhouse conditions in botanical gardens peace.\

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Socotra is a small archipelago of four islands in the Indian Ocean. Because of its landscape the island is called a unique place There is no other place like it on earth. It is enough to look at the photographs to understand that the local nature is unique. We have already written in our issues about many unusual places, but Sokotora goes far beyond the usual concepts of what unusual place.So, we continue our series of articles about interesting places planet Earth. We have already talked about the most mysterious places on Earth, now let's visit the most unusual places. The island of Socotra is unusual primarily for its landscape; it can be mistaken for a set for a film about some extraterrestrial civilization, but believe me, such beauty actually exists. On top of that, it is also one of the most isolated places on the planet. Because of this location, a third of Socotra's plants are endemic and cannot be found anywhere else on the planet. Imagine for a few seconds that a miracle happened and you suddenly woke up on this island. The first thing that comes to your mind is that you have gone crazy, or ended up on another planet, or plunged into a completely different era of Earth’s history. The latter option is most plausible in the case of Socotra, which has been geographically isolated from Africa for 6 million years. The island abounds in extremely rare species of flora and fauna, of which there are about seven hundred. Despite the harsh, hot and dry climate, amazing plant life thrives here. Socotra Island is located 250 kilometers from Somalia and 340 from Yemen. Wide sandy beaches smoothly transition to limestone plateaus with many caves and mountains up to 1525 meters high. The name Socotra is translated from Sanskrit as the Island of Happiness. And we can quite agree with this - crazy botanical charm coexists here with silence, isolation and huge quiet beaches. Let's move on to the description of some of the unique plants and animals of the island, which are protected here by natural isolation, and therefore some of them have been preserved in the same form as 20 million years ago. Let's start with dracena cinnibaris - a tree called Dragon's Blood, a source of valuable resin for varnishes, paints, and medicine. Dragon's blood resin was also used in medieval ritual magic and alchemy. The branches of these trees expand towards the sky, and from below they resemble many flying saucers... From above, they look like huge mushrooms: On Socotra there is also the Desert Rose (adenium obesium) - a plant similar to a flowering one Elephant Foot: Dorstenia Giga – requires no soil at all and sinks its roots directly into the bare rock: Also among the interesting plants of Socotra is the strange and extremely rare Cucumber Tree (dendrosicyos socotranum). Although the population of the island is approximately 40,000 inhabitants, The Yemeni government built the first roads here only 2 years ago - after negotiations with UNESCO, which declared Socotra a world heritage site. It is a quiet and peaceful enclave amidst a hectic world. If you decide

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Socotra is a small archipelago of four islands in the Indian Ocean. Because of its landscape, the island is called the most unique place on earth; there is no other place like it. It is enough to look at the photographs to understand that the local nature is unique. We have already written in our issues about many unusual places, but Sokotora goes far beyond the usual concepts of what an unusual place is. So, we continue our series of articles about interesting places on planet Earth. We have already talked about the most mysterious places on Earth, now we will visit the most unusual places. The island of Socotra is unusual primarily for its landscape; it can be mistaken for a set for a film about some extraterrestrial civilization, but believe me, such beauty actually exists. On top of that, it is also one of the most isolated places on the planet. Because of this location, a third of Socotra's plants are endemic and cannot be found anywhere else on the planet. Imagine for a few seconds that a miracle happened and you suddenly woke up on this island. The first thing that comes to your mind is that you have gone crazy, or ended up on another planet, or plunged into a completely different era of Earth’s history. The latter option is most plausible in the case of Socotra, which has been geographically isolated from Africa for 6 million years. The island abounds in extremely rare species of flora and fauna, of which there are about seven hundred. Despite the harsh, hot and dry climate, amazing plant life thrives here. Socotra Island is located 250 kilometers from Somalia and 340 from Yemen. Wide sandy beaches smoothly transition to limestone plateaus with many caves and mountains up to 1525 meters high. The name Socotra is translated from Sanskrit as the Island of Happiness. And we can quite agree with this - crazy botanical charm coexists here with silence, isolation and huge quiet beaches. Let's move on to the description of some of the unique plants and animals of the island, which are protected here by natural isolation, and therefore some of them have been preserved in the same form as 20 million years ago. Let's start with dracena cinnibaris - a tree called Dragon's Blood, a source of valuable resin for varnishes, paints, and medicine. Dragon's blood resin was also used in medieval ritual magic and alchemy. The branches of these trees expand towards the sky, and from below they resemble many flying saucers... From above, they look like huge mushrooms: On Socotra there is also the Desert Rose (adenium obesium) - a plant similar to a flowering one elephant's foot: Dorstenia Giga - does not require any soil at all and sinks its roots directly into the bare rock: Also among the interesting plants of Socotra is the strange and extremely rare Cucumber Tree (dendrosicyos socotranum). Although the island has a population of approximately 40,000, the Yemeni government only built its first roads two years ago after negotiations with UNESCO, which declared Socotra a world heritage site. It is a quiet and peaceful enclave amidst a hectic world. If you decide

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Ambergris Cay (Belize) is the largest island in area of the almost two hundred islands of Belize and a major attraction for many travelers, especially scuba diving enthusiasts. Cay means "island", and the name "Ambergris" comes from large pieces of ambergris (a waste product of migrating whales) that used to wash up on the local shore.

Tourist popularity came to the island relatively recently, so the nature here has preserved its pristine beauty, practically untouched by civilization.

The coastline of the island is protected by the Barrier Reef, without which this small piece of land in the ocean could not exist. The Barrier Reef serves as a natural breakwater and, of course, the biggest attraction. The reef is located approximately two kilometers from the shore of the island. Marvelous pure water, separating the island from the reef, provides countless opportunities for diving and snorkeling enthusiasts. Diving into dazzling turquoise ocean waters is a fabulous journey among colorful coral canyons and underwater caves, observing the life of marine inhabitants.

http://vk.com/tripdiary?z=photo-35238813_291690648%2Fwall-35238813_7014

Sao Tome
Sao Tome Island is the largest island in the district of Sao Tome and Principe. This island, ()

Sao Tome
Sao Tome Island is the largest island in the district of Sao Tome and Principe. This island local residents which speaks Portuguese, borders the Equator ( West Coast Central Africa). There is not a large influx of tourists here, so travelers can enjoy a secluded holiday.

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Madagascar is the largest island off the coast of Africa and in the entire Indian Ocean. Very often it is called a kind of miniature continent. This is because its flora and fauna are very different from those found on the African continent. Many of their representatives are found only here. Moreover, local landscapes are unique and are not repeated anywhere else on the planet. Several thousand years ago it was part of a huge continent known as Gondwana, which eventually split apart. As a result of this, Africa, Antarctica and Madagascar itself were formed. Now the largest island in Africa is separated from the main continent by the Mozambique Strait, whose width is about 300 kilometers.

The local landscape is diverse. Most of the territory is a plateau. In some areas it rises above sea level to a height of up to 2876 meters. Not far from the city of Antananarivo are the Ancaratro Mountains, whose maximum height is 2643 meters. Africa's largest island also boasts its fertile plains. They are located on the west and east coasts. All local rivers flow into and flow from east to west. Although there are not many of them, they annually attract a huge number of tourists with the abundance of their waterfalls and picturesque landscapes.

The best time to visit the largest island in Africa is considered to be from March to April. It is recommended to go to the central part from November to March. This is due to the specifics of the local climate. The fact is that there are wet and dry seasons. On the east coast there are almost always showers, and strong trade winds lead to rain jets flying almost horizontally, so no awnings or umbrellas can protect you from them. The average winter temperature is 16 and summer - 34 degrees Celsius.

Democratic, which was formed as a result of a military coup in 1975, occupies not only this large island of Africa, but also several small ones located nearby. The area of the country is just over 587 thousand km 2. The population of the state exceeds 14 million people. Most of them live in the largest cities, including the above-mentioned Antananarivo, as well as Tulear, Toamasina, Mahajanga, Fianarantsoa and others. There are two official languages in the republic - French and Merina (one of the dialects of Malagasy). The country is led by the president, and the head of government is the prime minister.

The first European to visit the largest on August 10, 1500 was the Portuguese Diego Diaz. In the new lands, travelers were engaged in robberies and murders, so as soon as they set off towards India, the local population breathed a sigh of relief. Much to his regret, six years later the next European expedition arrived on the island. Its representatives were not very different from their predecessors, so most of the adult inhabitants of Madagascar were destined to become slaves. At different times, the Portuguese, French and British tried to gain a foothold here. The island became self-governing in 1896. It was granted self-government in 1958 and declared independence in 1960.

Currently, Madagascar is a member of many world organizations, including the IMF, UN, WHO and others.

The largest island in Africa is, of course, Madagascar.

Madagascar is not only the largest African island, but also one of the most big islands the world - the fourth largest. The French called this island “Great” for its enormous size. It separated from the African continent more than 100 million years ago. And it seems that, according to the testimony of some scientists, Madagascar is still moving away from the continent at an incredible speed - as much as 2 centimeters per century. The island is located in the Indian Ocean, near eastern shore Africa, and from which it is separated by the Mozambique Channel. The climate on most of the island is tropical, only in the extreme south of the island is subtropical. The length of the island is about 1600 kilometers, width - over 600 kilometers, area - 587,040 square kilometers - this is approximately twenty Moscow regions or the territories of France and Belgium combined. Highest point the island is on this moment the inactive Marumukutru volcano, whose height is 2876 meters, is located in the Tsaratanana mountain range, in the north of the island. The Anjafi mountain plateau occupies the central part of the island. The mountainous terrain of the island, up to 2600 meters high, is rich in minerals and metals: copper, iron, gold; The vast coastal plains are marshy, and some of them are very fertile.

Animal and vegetable world Madagascar is quite unique - it contains 5 percent of the world's plant and animal species and 80 percent of them exist only on this African island. Because of this uniqueness, Madagascar is often called the "small continent".

In Madagascar there is a state of the same name, with its capital in the city of Antananarivo, which occupies the territory of the entire island. The state was formed on June 26, 1960, declaring its independence from France. The territory of 587,041 square kilometers is forty-fifth in the world. Population 20,042,552, 2008 estimate, 58th in the world.

Previously, several states existed on the island, but the most powerful and developed among them was the state of Imerina, founded by the Merinan people. The heyday of Imerina dates back to the 19th century. The name of this state indicates the place where it was located. Merina is translated into Russian as “highest”. The kingdom was located on the High Plateau of Madagascar. At the beginning of the 16th century, Tananarive was founded - the “city of a thousand”, which received this name in memory of the thousands of troops that annexed the land on which this city was built to the kingdom. The great ruler Ramboazalama, who ruled at the end of the 18th century, significantly expanded the kingdom, uniting many previously scattered tribes under his rule. It was Rambozalama who came up with the famous formula for a united Madagascar: “Our border is the sea.” And soon the unification of the island took place, a state “from sea to sea” was created, which occupied the territory of the entire island. On August 10, 1500, the Portuguese Diego Diaz was the first European to “discover” Madagascar. Soon after him, the French, British, and Dutch came to the island.

In the 19th century, the state of Imerina achieved quite significant success. Even universal compulsory education was introduced. The level of education of the population in the country increased so much that the royal court fired heralds and hung its decrees on the walls of houses. Almost everyone could read them. The Malagasy state continued to develop, the first factories and metallurgical factories appeared on the island, mining began, periodicals were born, and a network of medical institutions was created (in 1870 alone, more than 200 thousand people became their visitors). In 1876 - 6 years earlier than in France - Madagascar introduced free education. But, despite all this, Imerina could not withstand the onslaught of one of the largest imperialist powers. Relying on armed force and exploiting differences between tribes, France annexed the island in 1896. Here there is the fact that before the advent of European “civilizers” on the island there was a highly developed state in which something that was still far from being “super civilized” and “super cultural” existed - free and universal education, free medical care and almost universal literacy. The only thing in which the “civilized” Europeans, the French, were clearly superior to the “wild” African aborigines was in military strength.

The main population of the island are Malagasy. They speak Malagasy. This language is also called Malagasy and belongs to the Indonesian group of the Austronesian language family.

The Malagasy language is in no way related to the African languages around it. It is the most western of the Malayo-Polynesian languages belonging to the Austronesian family. The Malagasy language is related to the languages of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. The languages closest to it are those spoken on the island of Borneo. The basic vocabulary of the Malagasy language is 90% identical to the vocabulary of the Maanyang language of the Barito River region in southern Borneo. This can only mean one thing: Madagascar was inhabited by people from those places. It is not known for certain why this colonization occurred. Later settlers from the distant island of Borneo mixed with Arabs and people from East Africa. The Malagasy language has borrowings from Bantu, Swahili and Arabic, as well as from French and English. The language has written literature since the 15th century and a rich tradition of oral poetic traditions and legends.

A fairly small percentage of the island's population is made up of Comorians, Chinese, Indians, Creoles, French and Pakistanis.

52 percent of the population are adherents of local ancient traditional beliefs - animalism, fetishism, cult of ancestors, forces of nature, etc., 41 percent are Christians, of which approximately half are Catholics and half are Protestants, 7 percent are Sunni Muslims - immigrants from Pakistan and Comoros. The beginning of the spread of Christianity is the 17th century. Most Christians at the same time also profess local traditional beliefs.

From all of the above, I can conclude that the island of Madagascar is a rather interesting and unusual place in our globe, with unique flora and fauna and it is inhabited by people with a unique history and culture. In general, this is a place that is in no way inferior to the currently popular places of tourism and recreation and is worth visiting. Moreover, from March 1, 2010, the Madagascar authorities abolished visa fees for all tourists from Russia who come to the island for up to thirty days.