Madagascar is the most large island off the coast of Africa and throughout the Indian Ocean. Very often it is called a kind of miniature mainland. This is due to the fact that its flora and fauna are very different from those that exist on the African continent. Many of their representatives are found only here. Moreover, local landscapes are unique and are not repeated anywhere else on the planet. Several millennia ago, it was part of a huge mainland known as Gondwana, which eventually split apart. As a result, Africa, Antarctica and Madagascar itself were formed. Now the most big Island Africa is separated from the main continent by the Mozambique Channel, which is about 300 kilometers wide.

The local landscape is diverse. Most of the territory is a plateau. In some areas, it rises above sea level to a height of up to 2876 meters. Not far from the city of Antananarivo are the Ancaratro mountains, maximum height which is equal to 2643 meters. Africa also boasts of its fertile plains. They are located on the west and east coasts. All local rivers flow into the Mozambique Channel and flow from east to west. Although there are not many of them, they annually attract great amount tourists with an abundance of its waterfalls and picturesque landscapes.

best time to visit the largest island in Africa, the period from March to April is considered. It is recommended to go to the central part from November to March. This is due to the specifics of the local climate. The fact is that there are wet and dry seasons. There are almost always showers on the east coast, and strong trade winds lead to the fact that rain jets fly almost horizontally, so no canopies and umbrellas can save them from them. The average winter temperature is 16, and summer - 34 degrees Celsius.

The Democratic Republic of Madagascar, which was formed as a result of a military coup in 1975, occupies not only this large island of Africa, but also several small ones nearby. The country's area is just over 587 thousand km 2. The population of the state exceeds 14 million people. Most of them live in the most major cities, including Antananarivo mentioned above, as well as Tulear, Tuamasina, Mahajanga, Fianarantsoa and others. There are two official languages ​​in the republic - French and Merina (one of the dialects of Malagasy). The President leads the country, and the Prime Minister is the head of government.

The first European to visit the largest island in Africa on August 10, 1500 was the Portuguese Diego Diaz. In the new lands, travelers were engaged in robberies and murders, so as soon as they set off towards India, the local population breathed a sigh of relief. Much to his regret, six years later the next European expedition appeared on the island. Its representatives did not differ much from their predecessors, so most of the adult inhabitants of Madagascar were destined to become slaves. At different times, the Portuguese, French and British tried to gain a foothold here. In 1896, the island became self-governing in 1958, and the declaration of independence took place in 1960.

Currently, Madagascar is a member of many world organizations, including the IMF, UN, WHO and others.

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The largest island in Africa is, of course, Madagascar.

Madagascar is not only the largest African island, but also one of the most big islands world - the fourth largest. The French called this island "Great" for its huge size. It separated from the African continent more than 100 million years ago. And it seems that, according to some scientists, Madagascar is still moving away from the continent at an incredible speed - as much as 2 centimeters per century. The island is located in the Indian Ocean east coast Africa, and from which it is separated by the Mozambique Channel. The climate on most of the island is tropical, only in the extreme south of the island is subtropical. The length of the island is about 1600 kilometers, the width is over 600 kilometers, the area is 587,040 square kilometers - this is about twenty Moscow regions or the territories of France and Belgium combined. highest point islands is, on this moment not active, the Marumukutru volcano, whose height is 2876 meters, is located in the Tsaratanana mountain range, in the north of the island. The Anjafi mountain plateau occupies the central part of the island. The mountainous terrain of the island up to 2600 meters high is rich in minerals and metals: copper, iron, gold; the vast coastal plains are swampy, and some of them are very fertile.

Animal and vegetable world Madagascar is quite unique - it contains 5 percent of the world's plant and animal species and 80 percent of them exist only on this African island. Because of this uniqueness, Madagascar is often referred to as the "little continent".

In Madagascar, there is a state of the same name, with its capital in the city of Antananarivo, occupying the territory of the entire island. The state was formed on June 26, 1960, declaring its independence from France. The territory of 587,041 square kilometers is the forty-fifth in the world. Population 20,042,552, est. 2008, ranks 58th in the world.

Previously, several states existed on the island, but the most powerful and developed among them was the state of Imerina, founded by the Merinan people. The heyday of Imerin dates back to the 19th century. The name of this state indicates the place where it was located. Merina is translated into Russian as "highest". The kingdom was located on the High Plateau of Madagascar. At the beginning of the 16th century, Tananarive was founded - the “city of a thousand”, which received such a name in memory of the many thousands of troops who annexed the land on which this city was built to the kingdom. The great ruler of Ramboazalam, who ruled at the end of the 18th century, significantly expanded the boundaries of the kingdom, uniting under his rule many scattered tribes. It is Rambozalama who owns the famous formula of a single Madagascar: "Our border is the sea." And soon the unification of the island took place, a state “from sea to sea” was created, which occupied the territory of the entire island. On August 10, 1500, the Portuguese Diego Diaz was the first European to "discover" Madagascar. Soon after him, the French, British, and Dutch were drawn to the island.

In the 19th century, the state of Imerina achieved quite significant success. Even universal compulsory education was introduced. The level of education of the population in the country increased so much that the royal court fired heralds and posted their decrees on the walls of houses. Almost everyone could read them. The Malagasy state continued to develop, the first factories, metallurgical factories appeared on the island, mining began, periodicals were born, a network of medical institutions was created (more than 200 thousand people became their visitors in 1870 alone). In 1876 - 6 years earlier than in France - free education was introduced in Madagascar. But, despite all this, Imerina could not withstand the onslaught of one of the largest imperialist powers. Relying on armed force, using the differences between the tribes, France in 1896 annexes the island. Here we have the fact that before the appearance of European "civilizers" on the territory of the island, there was a highly developed state in which there was already something far from "super-civilized" and "super-cultural" - free and universal education, free medical care and almost universal literacy. The only thing in which the "civilized" Europeans, the French, clearly surpassed the "wild" African natives is in military strength.

The main population of the island are Malagasy. They speak Malagasy. This language is also called Malagash, and it belongs to the Indonesian group of the Austronesian language family.

The Malagasy language is in no way related to those around it. African languages. It is the westernmost of the Malayo-Polynesian languages ​​belonging to the Austronesian family. Malagasy is related to the languages ​​of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. The closest to it are the languages ​​spoken on the island of Borneo. The basic vocabulary of the Malagash language is 90% identical to the vocabulary of the Maanyan language in the region of the Barito River in southern Borneo. This can only mean one thing, Madagascar was inhabited by people from those places. The reason for this colonization is not known for certain. Later settlers from afar Borneo islands mingled with Arabs and East Africans. Malagasy has borrowings from Bantu, Swahili, and Arabic, as well as from French and English. The language has a written literature since the 15th century and a rich tradition of oral poetic traditions and legends.

A rather insignificant percentage of the island's population are Comoros, Chinese, Indians, Creoles, French and Pakistanis.

52 percent of the population are adherents of local ancient traditional beliefs - animalism, fetishism, the cult of ancestors, the forces of nature and others, 41 percent are Christians, of which about half are Catholics and half are Protestants, 7 percent are Sunni Muslims - immigrants from Pakistan and Comoros . The beginning of the spread of Christianity - the 17th century. Most Christians also profess local traditional beliefs at the same time.

From the foregoing, I can conclude that the island of Madagascar is quite interesting and unusual place our the globe, with unique flora and fauna and inhabited by people with a unique history and culture. In general, this is a place that is in no way inferior to the now popular places of tourism and recreation, and it is worth visiting. Moreover, since March 1, 2010, the authorities of Madagascar have canceled visa fees for all tourists from Russia who come to the island for up to thirty days.

Africa is a huge continent second only to Eurasia in area. It is washed by such oceans as the Atlantic and Indian. The northeastern shores of Africa go to the Red Sea, and the northern ones - to the Mediterranean. This part of the world includes not only the mainland, but also the islands adjacent to it. The islands of Africa increase its area from 29.2 million square meters. km (the area occupied by the mainland) to 30.3 million square meters. km.

Brief description of the African islands

The most significant island in this part of the world is Madagascar. It is separated from the mainland by the Mozambique Channel. Popular with tourists are located near the equator Seychelles. Africa also includes Madeira, Canary Islands, Socotra, Principe, Bioko, etc. The largest land area in the state of Sao Tome and Principe is Sao Tome, bordering the equator. The island is located in the Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic). It is 48 km long and 32 km wide. Nature, formed under the influence of the equatorial and tropical maritime climate, attracts tourists from all over the world to the island. Its population is represented by Santomeans and Portuguese using the Portuguese language.

The list of African islands also includes Moheli or Mwali. This is the smallest island of those that form the Comoros. The island has a poorly developed infrastructure and is sparsely populated. But there is the National marine park, which has no analogues. Therefore, fans of scuba diving seek to get to Moheli Island to admire the coral formations. Reunion Island is considered an interesting piece of land. This is an overseas territory of France with a population of about 800 thousand people. Reunion is located east of Madagascar. Next to it are the Swahili Islands. The French managed to turn the island into their colony in 1665. In terms of climate, it resembles Hawaii, as it is also located in a very hot spot on the planet.

Tropical piece of land belonging to Tanzania - Zanzibar. It is the main island of the archipelago of the same name. Zanzibar is the largest supplier of spices. The share of Zanzibar cloves in world exports is more than 70%. Therefore, more than half of the island is occupied by plantations of cloves, cinnamon and other spices. African islands in the Arabian Sea (northwest indian ocean) are land areas in the Socotra archipelago. It is formed by 2 rocks and 4 islands.

natural features

Different parts of Africa have a heterogeneous climate. The continent stretches from the subtropical northern zone to the subtropical southern zone, crossing the equator. The islands of Africa have a diverse flora and fauna. There is a rich undersea world, white sand beaches, impenetrable jungle and exotic animals.

Madagascar is the largest island off the coast of Africa and in the entire Indian Ocean. Very often it is called a kind of miniature mainland. This is due to the fact that its flora and fauna are very different from those that exist on the African continent. Many of their representatives are found only here. Moreover, local landscapes are unique and are not repeated anywhere else on the planet. Several millennia ago, it was part of a huge mainland known as Gondwana, which eventually split apart. As a result, Africa, Antarctica and Madagascar itself were formed. Now the largest island in Africa is separated from the main continent by the Mozambique Channel, which is about 300 kilometers wide.

The local landscape is diverse. Most of the territory is a plateau. In some areas, it rises above sea level to a height of up to 2876 meters. Not far from the city of Antananarivo, the Ancaratro mountains are located, the maximum height of which is 2643 meters. Africa's largest island also boasts of its fertile plains. They are located on the west and east coasts. All local rivers flow into and flow from east to west. Although there are not many of them, they attract a huge number of tourists every year with the abundance of their waterfalls and picturesque landscapes.

The best time to visit the largest island in Africa is from March to April. It is recommended to go to the central part from November to March. This is due to the specifics of the local climate. The fact is that there are wet and dry seasons. There are almost always showers on the east coast, and strong trade winds lead to the fact that rain jets fly almost horizontally, so no canopies and umbrellas can save them from them. The average winter temperature is 16, and summer - 34 degrees Celsius.

Democratic, which was formed as a result of a military coup in 1975, occupies not only this large island of Africa, but also several small ones nearby. The country's area is just over 587 thousand km 2. The population of the state exceeds 14 million people. Most of them live in the largest cities, including Antananarivo mentioned above, as well as Tulear, Tuamasina, Mahajanga, Fianarantsoa and others. There are two official languages ​​in the republic - French and Merina (one of the dialects of Malagasy). The President leads the country, and the Prime Minister is the head of government.

The first European to visit the largest on August 10, 1500 was the Portuguese Diego Diaz. In the new lands, travelers were engaged in robberies and murders, so as soon as they set off towards India, the local population breathed a sigh of relief. Much to his regret, six years later the next European expedition appeared on the island. Its representatives did not differ much from their predecessors, so most of the adult inhabitants of Madagascar were destined to become slaves. At different times, the Portuguese, French and British tried to gain a foothold here. In 1896, the island became self-governing in 1958, and the declaration of independence took place in 1960.

Currently, Madagascar is a member of many world organizations, including the IMF, UN, WHO and others.

AFRICA

Level I tests

1. The largest island off the coast of Africa:

a) Comoros b) Madagascar c) Sumatra d) Sri Lanka

2. Choose the correct answers.

1. The relief of Africa is dominated by:

a) lowlands b) highlands and plateaus c) low mountains d) high mountains

2. Higher part of Africa:

a) north and west c) south and east b) north and east d) south and west

3. In the eastern part of the mainland is:

a) the largest plateau on Earth b) the largest mountain range on Earth

c) the largest lowland on Earth d) the largest fault on Earth

3. Most high peaks Africa - Kilimanjaro and Kenya - are located:

a) on the East African plateau

b) in the Atlas mountains

c) in the Ethiopian highlands

d) in the Dragon Mountains

4. The hottest place in Africa:

A) the city of Tripoli c) the Somali Peninsula b) the Congo Basin d) the Sahara Desert

5. The source of the Nile is:

a) Lake Victoria c) Mediterranean Sea b) Lake Tanganyika d) Kagera River

6. Choose the correct answers.

a) Congo c) Niger b) Nile d) Zambezi

3. Most big lake Africa:

a) Chad c) Tanganyika b) Nyasa d) Victoria

4. The deepest lake in Africa:

a) Victoria c) Tanganyika b) Nyasa d) Rudolf

7. Choose the correct answer. Savannah plants are: a) rafflesia, ficus, oil palm b) roridula, baobab, doom palm

c) ebony, banana, creepers d) date palm, velvichia, aloe

8. Choose the correct answer. The inhabitants of the equatorial forests are:

a) elephant, ostrich, lion b) camel, scorpion, hyena

c) giraffe, zebra, rhinoceros d) okapi, gorilla, leopard

9. The shortest people on Earth are those living in Africa:

a) Tuareg c) Pygmies b) Masai d) Bushmen

10. The most ancient state of Africa and the world:

a) Egypt b) Ethiopia c) Libya d) Zambia

Level 2 tests

Distribute the extreme points of Africa by their location:

a) northern		c) western	d) eastern

Cape Agulhas 2. Cape Ras Hafun 3. Cape Ben Secca (Ras Angela) 4. Cape Almadi

2. Determine which mountain systems correspond to the following peaks:

	kilimanjaro	Peak Margherita		Ras Dashen

A) Atlas B) Ahaggar C) Darfur D) Rwenzori E) Tibesti G) Ethiopian Highlands

E) East African Plateau

3. Choose the correct answer.

1. Which of the following uplands not located in Africa? - a) Ahaggar c) Tibet b) Tibesti d) Ethiopian

2. Which of the following mountain systems not located in Africa? - a) Atlas c) Draconian b) Hindu Kush d) Cape

3. Which of the mountain peaks not located in Africa? - a) Mont Blanc b) Ras Dashen c) Kenya d) Toubkal

4. Which of the volcanoes not applicable to Africa? - a) Cameroon b) Karisimbi c) Kilimanjaro d) Mount Etna

4. Determine what minerals are rich;

1. North Africa- a) gas c) copper ores b) gold d) oil

2. South Africa- a) oil b) diamonds c) gold d) phosphorites

5. Why is Africa the hottest continent?

1) It is washed by the warmest oceans of the Earth - Indian and Atlantic.

2) In Africa lie largest deserts Earth, including the Sahara.

3) Most of the mainland lies between the tropics.

4) Not in Africa high mountains with snow-capped peaks and a cold climate.

6. Select wrong statement about the rivers and lakes of Africa.

2) Congo is the only one major river crossing the equator twice.

3) Niger is a river in the Indian Ocean basin. 4) Lake Victoria has no permanent shores.

5) Tanganyika is the deepest lake on the mainland. 6) Most high waterfall Africa - Augrabis.

7) Victoria Falls was discovered by the great English traveler D. Livingston.

7. Determine which natural area these plants are found.

equatorial forests

Acacia Aloe Banana Baobab Welwitschia Wild Watermelon Liana Ceiba Ficus Oil Palm Aolochai Doum Palm Rafflesia Date palm Ebony

8. Determine in which natural area these animals live.

equatorial forests

Antelope Camel Cheetah Gorilla Giraffe Zebra Pygmy Hippo

Bush-eared pig Lion Leopard Fennec fox Marabu Sunbird Rhinoceros

Scorpion Elephant Ostrich Termite Chimpanzee Okapi

9. Pick a couple: people living in Africa - habitat:

			Madagascar	cape mountains	Ethiopian highlands	Kalahari	Gulf of Guinea coast

Amhara Afrikaners Bushmen Hottentots Yoruba Malagasy Tuareg Pygmies 10. Which of the African countries can be said about ...

Level III tests

1. Select geographic features related to the Great African Rift:

a) Atlas Mountains f) Ethiopian Highlands b) Lake Nyasa g) dragon mountains c) Lake Chad h) Red Sea d) Nile i) Ahaggar Highlands e) Lake Tanganyika j) Zambezi

2. Pick a pair: traveler-discovery or travel.

	Phoenicians		V. da Gama		Ibn Battuta		D. Livingston	G. Stanley	V. V. Junker

discovered the Cape of Good Hope

explored the Niger River Basin

discovered that Lake Chad is drainless

made the first voyage around Africa

first to cross the Sahara

discovered the Kagera River and the Rwenzori Massif

from sailed the Nile to Punt

sailed around southern Africa

discovered Victoria Falls

explored the Nile-Congo watershed

3. Determine which term or concept these definitions correspond to:

	reserve		desertification

Tropical steppe with tall grasses and sparse trees

Strong and hot desert wind carrying clouds of sand

The spread of the desert as a result of unreasonable human activities

Plants that live on the trunks of other trees and use the moisture and nutrients of host plants and air

Violation of the continuous distribution of rocks as a result of the movement of the earth's crust

Part of the territory in which the entire natural complex is protected in its natural state

Desert area with abundant moisture and rich vegetation

A natural area with a hot, dry climate and little or no vegetation

Dry riverbeds in North Africa

4. Choose which of the following national parks are in Africa:

a) Kafue b) Wood Buffalo c) Serengeti d) Tzavu e) Banff f) Etosha Pan

g) Taimyr h) Galapagos i) Kruger j) Ngorongoro

5. Determine which natural zone the given statements correspond to.

equatorial forests		tropical desert

They occupy almost 40% of the mainland area.

Located in the river basin. Congo and along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea.

They occupy almost a third of the mainland, especially in the northern part.

Precipitation falls throughout the year, especially in the afternoon.

Clouds are rare.

There are two seasons - wet and dry.

Fertile and humus-rich red-brown soils.

Soils are practically non-existent.

Multilayered forest vegetation.

Grasses dominate, trees and shrubs grow along rivers or singly.

Vegetation is concentrated in oases.

The most common trees are baobab and umbrella acacia.

The most valuable plant is the date palm.

Many trees with valuable timber.

The richest and most diverse animal world on the ground.

Animals can go without water for a long time or run long distances in search of it.

Many animals live in trees

6. Determine which of the following countries are located in Africa:

a) Albania b) Algeria c) Botswana d) Guatemala e) Denmark f) Cameroon g) Kenya h) Laos i) Mongolia j) Tunisia

Program

State sample about the corresponding level general education: - certificate ... d) Antarctica b) Africa e) South America c) Eurasia e) North America AFRICA 1. MostlargeIsland at shoresAfrica: a) Comoros ... each of them. Test