MADAGASCAR, m5cl-a-g5.s'kar, an island in the Indian Ocean, since 1896 a French colony. It is separated by the Mozambique Channel from the southeast coast of Africa, the nearest point being 240 miles distant. It is 975 miles long from Cape Saint Mary in the south to Cape Amber in the north, has an average breadth of 250 miles, greatest breadth 360 miles, and an estimated area of 227,750 square miles, being after Greenland, New Guinea, Baf fin Land and Borneo, the fifth largest island in the world. The Comoro Archipelago (1,357 square miles) was attached to the island as a province for administrative purposes in 1914.
Topography.— Madagascar consists of an elevated region with an average height of from 3,000 to 5,000 feet overlooked by mountains rising in some cases to nearly 9,000 feet above the sea-level. This plateau occupies a much larger proportion of the surface in the north and east than in the west and south, and the greater portion of the island south of lat. 23° S. belongs to a much lower region which does not consist entirely of plains, but is interrupted toward the west by three prominent chains of hills stretching from north to south, one of them apparently in a continuous line about 600 miles in length. The coast exhibits a number of indentations, mostly small, but few good harbors, being in great part rock, though in some places low and sandy.
The rivers are numerous; few of them offer the advantages of internal navigation. The chief rivers have their courses on the west and northwest side of the island. The Betsibolca with its affluent, the Ikiopa, unitedly measuring 300 miles, may be ascended by light steamers for 100 miles; the Tsiribihina has a somewhat shorter course, but drains by its numerous tributaries a much larger area. The eastern rivers descend from the high land through magnificent gorges, forming a succes sion of rapids and cascades, the falls in some instances having a descent of 500 feet. There are few lakes of any size as yet known to explorers; one of the largest is Aliotra Lake, measuring 25 miles long; the others do not reach a length of 10 miles. A long chain of lagoons having very short distances between each and often expanding into wide sheets of water stretches for nearly 300 miles along the coast.
Geologically the elevated region consists almost entirely of granite and other igneous rocks, while the lower region is com posed chiefly of secondary formations. The former region is traversed by a line of extinct volcanic craters, some of which show signs of comparatively recent activity. Among the more
remarkable fossils are remains of a huge stru thious bird, the Epiornis, whose egg, measuring 12 by 9 inches, is larger than that of any other known bird. 'the include iron in abun dance, gold, lead and copper, all more or less worked, while in the northwest coal is found.
Climate.— The climate is varied; the heat on the coast is often very intense, but on the high lands of the interior the temperature is moderate. On the coast the rains are nearly constant, beginning in the evening and some times lasting all night; in the interior the winter is dry and agreeable. The greatest amount of rainfall takes place on the east coast, and especially on the northeast, the part directly exposed to the summer monsoon. The elevated region of the interior and the districts on the west coast are tolerably healthy for Europeans, but owing to the large extent of marsh and lagoon on the east, malaria fever prevails, and is frequently fatal to natives from the interior as well as to Europeans. Snow is never found on even the loftiest mountains.
The inhabitants, known by the name of Malagasy, belong to the Malayo-Poly nesian stock and speak a Malayan language. They appear to form substantially a single race, though they have received a considerable inter mixture of African blood and a certain amount of Arab intermixture. They are divided into numerous tribes, each having a distinctive name and customs. The Hovas are the predominant tribe; their proper country is the elevated region of the interior, but they extended their sway over nearly the whole island. Among the other chief tribes are the Betsimasaraka on the east coast, the Betsileo in the south central region and the Sakalava on the west and north. The people were socially divided into three classes: Adrians or nobles, Hovas (in a special and re stricted use of the word) or free commoners, and Andevos or slaves: the nobles and slave classes have been abolished by the French. In the coast districts the houses of the better class are built of framed timber with lofty roofs covered with shingles or tiles; the dwellings of the lower classes are constructed of bamboo or rushes, or even of clay. In former and more unsettled times the villages were almost always built on the tops of hills, but during the 19th century this precaution has not been deemed so indispensable.