Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country comprising the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's fourth largest island, the second-largest island country and the 46th largest country in the world. Its capital and largest city is Antananarivo.
Malagasy ancestry reflects a blend of Southeast Asian, Oceanian and Bantu (Southeast African) roots.
European contact began in 1500 when Portuguese explorer Diogo Dias recorded the island while participating in the 2nd Portuguese India Armadas.
Matatana, represented in a picture of 1613, regarding a settlement of the beginning of the 16th century, in the Book of Humberto Leitão"
King Andrianampoinimerina (1787–1810)
Madagascar is a large island in the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of Southern Africa, east of Mozambique. It has a total area of 587,040 square kilometres (226,660 sq mi) with 581,540 square kilometres (224,530 sq mi) of land and 6,900 square kilometres (2,700 sq mi) of water. Madagascar is the fourth-largest island and the second-largest island country in the world. The highest point is Maromokotro, in the Tsaratanana Massif region in the north of the island, at 2,876 metres (9,436 ft). The capital Antananarivo is in the Central Highlands near the centre of the island. It has the 25th largest exclusive economic zone of 1,225,259 km2 (473,075 sq mi). Madagascar is 400 kilometres east of mainland Africa.
Village in the central highlands
Majahilo river at Miandrivazo
This astronaut photograph highlights two estuaries along the north-western coastline of Madagascar
Tsiribihina River