Madagascar: The Exotic Island :: essays research papers

Looking at a map of the southern hemisphere, whizz wouldnt expect such a seemingly "small" island to be so exotic and bountiful, but the island of Madagascar is beneficial that. A 226,658 square mile (587,041 square kilometers) piece of land, with a a coastline of about 2,480 miles (3,990 kilometers), its a beautiful and different view of its large neighbor, Africa.The island itself is make up of ridges, rivers, valleys, and tropical forests sectioning off the different regions of the landscape, scattered trees and tall grasses to one side, narrow coastal plains, and low plataeus and plains off to a nonher. To the north is Mt. Maromokotro, the highest peak on the island at 9,436 feet (2,876 meters). Coral beaches line the east coast, adding to the natural beauty of the already lovely landscape.The tropical climate provides varying amounts of rainfall-from 83 inches (211 centimeters) in the northwestward to 14 inches (36 centimeters) in the southwest. The drought-infested south is extremely piquant and dry, and the west is hot and wet. Indian Ocean cyclones bring periodic heavy rains and destructive floods. erstwhile covered by forests, most of the island now has a savannah-steppe vegetation with a few forests in the west and evergreen forests on the eastern spring of the central plateau. An interesting climate for such a unique place.The animals at that place are also different and the likes of which not found anywhere else not even in Africa. 50 species of lemurs inhabit the island, as well as 800 different types of butterflies. Though near the once-dubbed "Dark Continent", the species and vegitation seem to give birth remnants of Eastern India, proof perhaps that the island is a breakaway of the decidedly larger continent of Asia.The peoples of the large island are as diverse as the wildlife, ranging from the Malagasy to the French, several(prenominal) native groups mixing with those of foreign origins. The population in itself has n ear multiply since 1950, 80 percent, mostly rural. Malagasy and French are the officials languages of the island, with Christians (both Roman Catholic and Protestent) qualification up the most of the religious groups. Half still follow handed-down ways, however. Education is free to all citizens of Madagascar ranging in age from 6 to 14. However, several(prenominal) tend to skip school and go straight to work.