Which Strait separates the island of Madagascar from Africa? Madagascar: climate, population

Which Strait separates the island of Madagascar from Africa? Mozambique, of course! This strait is considered to be the longest in the world, its flow is very warm, which contributes to the formation of hot air masses over the island and the regions of Africa that adjoin it. The climatic conditions of Madagascar range from wet equatorial to arid tropical. The natural zones that are encountered here are deserts, savannahs, and evergreen impenetrable jungles. Now we will look in detail at what strait separates the island of Madagascar from Africa, what it is remarkable for and how it affects the land that adjoins it.

General information about the Strait

These waters are located in the western Indian Ocean and wash the shores of East Africa and the island of Madagascar. In the upper part of the strait there are Comoros, consisting of lands of volcanic origin. Many of them are "completed" with corals, the smallest are completely uninhabited. The length of this strait is as much as 1760 kilometers, and the width varies between 1,250 and 422 kilometers. The deepest point of Mozambique is at a distance of 4250 meters from the surface of the water, but in most of the territory its depth reaches 2000 meters. Salinity of water is about 36%.

History of Education

Sarkastically speaking, about what the strait separates the island of Madagascar from Africa, even dinosaurs inhabited not a planet in the Jurassic period knew. Approximately 165 million years ago from the supercontinent of Gondwana, which existed according to one of the theories, in the place where Africa is now, a section of land broke away, which moved to the ocean and became the island of Madagascar. Thus, it is in its place for more than 100 million years. And, most importantly, it does not move. The hollow that separates this piece of land began to form at the junction of two periods - Jurassic and Cretaceous, and gradually filled with salt water. At the same time, the other continents separated from Gondwana - Africa became independent, the features of Hindustan were distinguished, "Australia" left far to the east. All this happened about 70 million years ago. But at the same time the Mozambique Channel has existed for 60 million years.

Weather and climate

To understand which strait separates Madagascar from Africa - cold or warm, we will consider its climatic features. Most of the winds - the trade winds, come here from the African continent. The strait lies in the subequatorial and tropical strip, so both dry and wet winds sweep over it. From the East it is blown by the South Indian anticyclone, which brings cooler air. Rains here begin in November and end in March, and the amount of rainfall is about 2000 mm per year. The air temperature does not change with the seasons and is approximately 25-28 degrees. Up to the same indicators, the surface waters of Mozambique are also warming up.

The adjacent shores are the island of Madagascar, Africa. Descriptions of the nature of regions

Mozambique is washed by two large shores: it is the same country with it, which is in Africa, and the island of Madagascar, where the autonomous state is also located. Both geographical objects lie in the humid subequatorial zone and in the tropics, therefore the nature here is diverse. The shores of Madagascar are covered with evergreen tropical jungle, the climate there is very humid and hot. Over this area the maximum amount of precipitation is formed - up to 3000 mm, which fall mainly in winter. In the depths of the island, forests are converted into savannahs and deserts. Here, as on the continent, there are typical African animals: giraffes, zebras, elephants. The situation in Mozambique is about the same. Coastal tropical thickets pass into desert territories, which are winded by trade winds and are characterized by tropical storms.

Relief and coast of Madagascar

The island, separated from Africa by the Straits of Mazambique, has a varied relief. In the northern part of the coastline is cut by rocks. The shore here is rocky, steep, very often there are swamps. The north-west of Madagascar is characterized by quiet bays, where the shallows stretch for tens of miles. Water here is heated to the maximum at any time of the year. The southern part of the island is most suitable for beach holidays - here you can see flat steppes and a gentle entrance to the sea. On the island there are mountains - Ankaratra. The heights they reach are 2500 m or more. Among the mountains there are extinct volcanoes, which, however, still cause earthquakes.

Residents of the coastal areas of the Mozambique Channel

Like the mainland - Africa - Madagascar is inhabited mainly by the Negroid race, mulattoes, half-breeds and, in rare cases, by Indians. But here it is worth highlighting that in the state of Mozambique people settled much earlier than on the island. They are characterized by a great commitment to African traditions and religions. Also among them there are much more indigenous Negritos than among the inhabitants of Madagascar. On the same island, the mentality is represented by different cultures, from typically African to South Asian.

Summarizing

We briefly examined the strait separating the island of Madagascar from Africa. We learned what kind of climate it is characteristic for, when it formed and what its features are. We also inspected the island of Madagascar: where is located, the climate, the population, the terrain and much more. It was possible to determine that in many ways the state of Mozambique and Madagascar are similar, but at the same time, differences, especially for local residents, play a very significant role.