ANTANANARIVO, the capital of Madagascar, situated about 9om. from the eastern coast of the island, in 18° 55' S., 3o' E. It is 135m. W.S.W. of Tamatave, the principal seaport of the island, with which it is connected by railway. The town, pic turesquely built on a basaltic ridge which rises to 69oft. above the fertile rice plain of the Ikopa to the west (4,o6oft. above sea level), owes its importance to its defensive site and to its rich environs. For long only the principal village of the Hova chiefs, Antananarivo advanced in importance as those chiefs made them selves sovereigns of the greater part of Madagascar, until it be came a town of some 8o,000 inhabitants. Until 1869 all buildings within the city proper were of wood or rush, but it possesses sev eral timber palaces which crown the summit of the central portion of the ridge; and the largest palace, I2oft. high, with its lofty roof and towers, is the most conspicuous object from every point of view. Since the introduction of brick and stone, and especially since the French conquest (1895), handsome public buildings, including the French residency, the royal palaces, the Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedrals, schools and comfortable houses of brick or stone have been erected alongside indigenous huts of straw or wood. Excellent avenues have been made and flights of steps constructed up the steeper hill-slopes. Antananarivo also possesses a library, an experimental garden and an observatory. Water is obtained from springs at the foot of the hill and from the river Ikopa, which skirts the capital to the south and west. The population, including that of the suburbs, is 92,475 (1931). Two forts on hills, east and south-west, guard the city.