Geography & Climate
At 587,000 km
2, Madagascar is the fifth largest island in the world, comparable in size to Kenya.
The eastern part of the island is still covered by a narrow band of lowland forests that lead to steep hills and central highlands, with volcanic mountains rising to the north in the Tsaratanana Massif.
The northwest coast forms a series of natural coves, with broad plains inland, while the southwest region consists of plateaus and deserts. Because of the island’s localized red soils, Madagascar has been called the "Great Red Island".
Madagascar’s climate is tropical along the coast, temperate inland, and arid in the south. The island is hot and rainy from November to April, and cooler and dry from May to October. Southeastern trade winds sweep the island, along with occasional cyclones – which can occasionally be very destructive.
Nature
The island of Madagascar separated from the African continent some 165 million years.1 Since then, a unique array of plants and animals have evolved, including many endemics (species found nowhere else in the world). These characteristics have led some scientists to dub Madagascar the "seventh continent”.
You say lemurs? All 50 known species of these small primates are found only on this island. These include the indri, the largest living lemur; black lemurs, which feed on ripe fruit, leaves, insects and flowers; and the hairy-eared dwarf lemur that has long wavy hair around its ears.
The eastern, or windward side of the island is home to tropical rainforests, while the western and southern sides of the island are covered by tropical dry forests, thorn forests, and deserts and xeric shrublands. Dry forests support hundreds of endemic plant and animal species - for example, 7 species of baobab trees as compared to only one in all of Africa.
