Madagascar is a large island in the Indian Ocean located 400 kilometres (250 mi) off the eastern coast of Southern Africa,[1] east of Mozambique.

[2] The east coast consists of a narrow band of lowlands about fifty kilometres (31 mi) wide, formed from the sedimentation of alluvial soils, and an intermediate zone composed of steep bluffs alternating with ravines bordering an escarpment of about 500 metres (1,640 ft) in elevation, which gives access to the Central Highlands.

The coastline is deeply indented; two prominent features are the natural harbor at Antsiranana (Diego Suárez), just south of the Cap d'Ambre (Tanjon' i Bobaomby), and the large island of Nosy Be to the west.

The mountainous topography of the Tsaratanana Massif limits the potential of the port at Antsiranana by impeding the flow of traffic from other parts of the island.

A prominent feature of the Central Highlands is a rift valley running north to south, located east of Antananarivo and including Lac Alaotra, the largest body of water on the island.

Deep bays and well-protected harbors have attracted explorers, traders, and pirates from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East since ancient times; thus, the area has served as an important bridge between Madagascar and the outside world.

Silting up of harbors on this coast, caused by sediment from the high levels of erosion suffered inland in Madagascar, is a major problem.

The broad alluvial plains found on the coast between Mahajanga and Toliara, which are believed to have great agricultural potential, are thinly inhabited, in many places covered with swamps of Madagascar mangroves, and remain largely unexplored, although they are the subject of mineral and hydrocarbon exploration activity.

The major rivers on the west coast are the Sambirano, the Mahajamba, the Betsiboka (part of Mahajanga is located at the mouth), the Mania, the North and South Mahavavy, the Mangoky, and the Onilahy.

The east coast has a tropical rainforest climate; being most directly exposed to the trade winds, it has the highest rainfall, averaging as high as 4,000 mm (157.5 in) annually in some places.

Because rain clouds discharge much of their moisture east of the highest elevations on the island, the Central Highlands are drier and, owing to the altitude, also cooler.

Hail is common in many of the higher areas of the island (including Antananarivo), but there is no snowfall except on the Ankaratra massif where above 2,400 m (7,874 ft) it may occasionally fall and even remain for several days.

Their characteristics are believed to reflect the island's origins as a part of Gondwanaland and its many millions of years of isolation following the breakup of the landmass.

Many of the characteristic African species—large mammals such as the elephant, rhinoceros, giraffe, zebra, and antelope and predators such as lions and leopards—do not exist in Madagascar.

Thus, a great number of plant, insect, reptile, and fish species are endemic to Madagascar, and all indigenous land mammal species—66 in all—are unique to the island.

Madagascar was once covered almost completely by forests, but slash and burn practices for dry rice cultivation has denuded most of the landscape, especially in the Central Highlands.

Rain forests are concentrated on the steep hillsides along a slender north–south axis bordering the east coast, from the Tsaratanana Massif in the north to Tolagnaro in the south.

Secondary growth, which has replaced the original forest and consists to a large extent of traveller's trees, raffia palm, and baobabs, is found in many places along the east coast and in the north.

The vegetation of the Central Highlands and the west coast is for the most part savanna or steppe, and coarse prairie grass predominates where erosion has not exposed the orange-red lateritic soil.

Bananas, mangoes, coconut, vanilla, and other tropical plants grow on the coasts, and the eucalyptus tree, brought from Australia, is widespread today.

Madagascar has a number of natural resources, including nickel, cobalt, graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, rare Earth elements, salt, quartz, tar sands, semi-precious stones and mica.

Madagascar is currently suffering in some areas from soil erosion as a result of deforestation and overgrazing, desertification, and contamination of surface water with raw sewage and organic waste.