Diana is a

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

at the northern part of the island. It borders the regions of

Sava The Sava, is a river in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. From its source in Slovenia it flows through Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally reac ...

to the southeast and

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

to the southwest. It covers an area of 19,266 km², and had a population of 889,736 in 2018. The regional capital is

Antsiranana Antsiranana ( ), named Diego-Suarez prior to 1975, is a city in the far north of Madagascar. Antsiranana is the capital of Diana Region. It had an estimated population of 115,015 in 2013. History At the beginning of the 16th century, a Portugue ...

(previously known as ''Diego Suarez'').

Geography

Rivers

The main rivers of the Diana region are: * Besokatra River * Irodo River * Loky River * Mahavavy River * Ramena River * Saharenana River * Sambirano River

Protected areas and visitors' attractions

The following national parks, reserves and visitors' attractions are located in Diana: * Ambodivahibe New Protected Area * Andrafiamena Andavakoera New Protected Area * Nosy Antsoha New Protected Area * Ampasindava New Protected Area * Galoko Kalobinono New Protected Area * Oronjia New Protected Area * Amber Mountain National Park * Analamerana Reserve * Ankarana Reserve * Lokobe National Park * Manongarivo Reserve * Tsaratanana National Park * Nosy Hara National Park * Nosy Tanikely National Park * Ambohitr'Antsingy (Montagne des Français) New Protected Area * Ankarea New Protected Area * Ankivonjy New Protected Area * Part of COMATSA Avaratra New Protected Area * Part of COMATSA Atsimo New Protected Area * Tsingy Rouge

Administrative divisions

Diana Region is divided into five districts, which are subdivided into 51 communes. The districts are listed below with their 2013 populations:Institut National de la Statistique, Madagascar. *

Ambanja District Ambanja is a district in northern Madagascar. It is a part of Diana Region and borders the districts of Ambilobe to the east, Bealanana to the south and Analalava to the south-west. The area is and the population was estimated at 190,435 in ...

- 18 communes; 190,435 inhabitants * Ambilobe District - 15 communes; 216,145 inhabitants * Antsiranana I District 1 commune; 115,015 inhabitants; the city of Antsiranana * Antsiranana II District - 16 communes; 105,416 inhabitants; the rural area surrounding the city * Nosy Be District 1 commune; 73,010 inhabitants; the island of Nosy Be

Transport

* Seaports in

and

Nosy Be Nosy Be (; formerly Nossi-bé and Nosse Be, ) is a volcanic island off the northwest coast of Madagascar. Nosy Be is Madagascar's largest and busiest tourist destination. It has an area of , and its population was 109,465 according to the provisio ...

* 2 regional airports, Antsiranana Airport and Nosy Be Airport * 2 local airports in Ambanja and Ambilobe * The region is crossed by the paved **

Route Nationale 6 The Route nationale 6 is a trunk road ( nationale) in France between Paris and the frontier with Italy in the Alps. Reclassification The RN 6 runs parallel for a long portion of its route to the A 6 autoroute. As a result, portions of the r ...

(Antsiranana - Ambilobe - Ambanja) and the unpaved ** Route Nationale 5a from Ambilobe to Iharana as well as ** National road 59b (

- Ramena)

Economy

Fishery

is an important

tuna A tuna (: tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bul ...

fishing port. There is also a tuna canning factory. Other important fishery products are

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

(2.813.291 kg exported in 2002) and

sea cucumber Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class (biology), class Holothuroidea ( ). They are benthic marine animals found on the sea floor worldwide, and the number of known holothuroid species worldwide is about 1,786, with the greatest number be ...

Agriculture

The main crops are: * subsistence agriculture: 75.510 ha (67% of the cultivated area):

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

manioc ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...

sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its sizeable, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable, which is a staple food in parts of ...

and

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

* cash crops: 21.560 ha (19% of the cultivated area):

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

pepper Pepper(s) may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plants ** Black pepper ** Long pepper ** Kampot pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanacea ...

, cacao and

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

* industrial crops: 15.420 ha (13% of the cultivated area):

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...

s and

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

There are also important productions of

essential oils An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...

(mainly ylang ylang but also

palmarosa ''Cymbopogon martinii'' is a species of grass in the genus '' Cymbopogon'' (lemongrasses) native to India and Indochina but widely cultivated in many places for its aromatic oil. It is best known by the common name palmarosa (''palm rose'') as it ...

, vetyver and

basil Basil (, ; , ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' (, )), also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a hardiness (plants), tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" r ...

) on 2465 ha in the regions of

and Ambanja. * Cattle raising: in 2002 the region contained 308,530

bovine Bovines (subfamily Bovinae) comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including Bos, cattle, bison, African buffalo, Bubalus, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The members of this gro ...

s, 53,980

swine Suina (also known as Suiformes) is a suborder of omnivorous, non-ruminant artiodactyl mammals that includes the domestic pig and peccaries. A member of this clade is known as a suine. Suina includes the family Suidae, termed suids, known in ...

, 2,840

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

and 44,520

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

Mining

Pozzolana Pozzolana or pozzuolana ( , ), also known as pozzolanic ash (), is a natural siliceous or siliceous- aluminous material which reacts with calcium hydroxide in the presence of water at room temperature (cf. pozzolanic reaction). In this reaction ...

, lime,

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name ''sapphire ...

graphite Graphite () is a Crystallinity, crystalline allotrope (form) of the element carbon. It consists of many stacked Layered materials, layers of graphene, typically in excess of hundreds of layers. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable ...

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

corundum Corundum is a crystalline form of aluminium oxide () typically containing traces of iron, titanium, vanadium, and chromium. It is a rock (geology), rock-forming mineral. It is a naturally transparency and translucency, transparent material, but ...

amethyst Amethyst is a Violet (color), violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek from - , "not" and (Ancient Greek) / (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from Alcohol into ...

garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. Garnet minerals, while sharing similar physical and crystallographic properties, exhibit a wide range of chemical compositions, de ...

zircon Zircon () is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates and is a source of the metal zirconium. Its chemical name is zirconium(IV) silicate, and its corresponding chemical formula is Zr SiO4. An empirical formula showing some of th ...

cordierite Cordierite (mineralogy) or iolite (gemology) is a magnesium iron aluminium cyclosilicate. Iron is almost always present, and a solid solution exists between Mg-rich cordierite and Fe-rich sekaninaite with a series formula: to . A high-tempera ...

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

beryl Beryl ( ) is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium Silicate minerals#Cyclosilicates, silicate with the chemical formula Be3Al2(SiO3)6. Well-known varieties of beryl include emerald and Aquamarine (gem), aquamarine. Naturally occurring Hex ...

and

ilmenite Ilmenite is a titanium-iron oxide mineral with the idealized formula . It is a weakly magnetic black or steel-gray solid. Ilmenite is the most important ore of titanium and the main source of titanium dioxide, which is used in paints, printi ...

are extracted in the region. * Ampasindava mine, a rare earth mine.

References

EDBM
()

External links

Official website of Diana Region

Monographie de la Région Diana
{{Authority control Regions of Madagascar