Morondava (, from mg, morona lava "long coast") is a city located in

Menabe Menabe is a region in western Madagascar, with its capital at Morondava. It covers an area of , and its population was 700,577 in 2018. The population mostly belongs to the Sakalava ethnic group. The region is named after the 18th-century Sakalav ...

Region, of which it is the capital, in

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. It is located in the delta of the Morandava River at . Its population as of the 2018 census, was 53,510.

Population

The predominant tribe is the

Sakalava The Sakalava are an ethnic group of Madagascar. They are found on the western and northwest region of the island, in a band along the coast. The Sakalava are one of the smaller ethnic groups, constituting about 6.2 percent of the total populatio ...

. But there are also a few

Betsileo The Betsileo are a highland ethnic group of Madagascar, the third largest in terms of population. They chose their name, meaning "The Many Invincible Ones", after a failed invasion by King Ramitraho of the Menabe kingdom in the early 19th centu ...

Tsimihety The Tsimihety are a Malagasy ethnic group who are found in the north-central region of Madagascar.Tsimihety
E ...

Merina The Merina people (also known as the Imerina, Antimerina, or Hova) are the largest ethnic group in Madagascar.Merina ...

Makoa The Makoa (or Masombika) are an ethnic group in Madagascar descended from enslaved people from mainland Africa that were traded through the major slave trading ports of northern Mozambique in an area mainly populated by the Makua people. They a ...

as well as

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

ans.

Transportation

Air Madagascar has regular scheduled flights to

Morondava Airport Morondava Airport is an airport in Morondava, Menabe Region, Madagascar .Morondava Airport
worldaero ...

. The main road to town has been renovated recently. With the new road established, a trip from

Antananarivo Antananarivo ( French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra ("Antananarivo-Mother Hill" or "An ...

to Morondava by taxi-brousse takes approximately 12 hours.

Pirogue A pirogue ( or ), also called a piragua or piraga, is any of various small boats, particularly dugouts and native canoes. The word is French and is derived from Spanish , which comes from the Carib '. Description The term 'pirogue' does n ...

s are consequently a popular mode of transport used to ferry people and goods along the coast, especially to

Morombe Morombe is an urban municipality (commune urbaine) on the south-west coast in Atsimo-Andrefana, Madagascar. It can be reached by the National road 55 or pirogue from Morondava. It is situated at 283 km from Tulear. An airport serves the town. ...

Roads

* RN 34 to

Ivato, Ambositra Ivato or Ivato Centre is a town and commune in Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Ambositra, which is a part of Amoron'i Mania Region. Geography This town lies at the intersection of the Route nationale 35 to Morondava and the Route natio ...

and Antsirabe. * RN 8 to

Belo-sur-Tsiribihina Belon'i Tsiribihina (also known as Belo sur Tsiribihina or Belo - Tsiribihina) is a town and commune ( mg, kaominina) in Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Belo sur Tsiribihina, which is a part of Menabe Region. It is situated at the mouth ...

Ecology

The city is famous amongst other things for the spectacular

Avenue of Baobabs The Avenue of the Baobabs, or Alley of the Baobabs, is a prominent group of Grandidier's baobabs (''Adansonia grandidieri'') lining the dirt road between Morondava and Belon'i Tsiribihina in the Menabe region of western Madagascar. Its striking ...

nearby at . These giant

baobab ''Adansonia'' is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.Trop ...

trees are an 800-year-old legacy of the dense tropical forests that once throve here. Over the years, as the country's population grew, the forests were steadily cut down, leaving only the

trees, which the locals preserved for religious reasons. Today,

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

still continues as large areas of this region, including some of few remaining baobabs, are cleared to make way for

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

plantations. The

Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve is a nature reserve located near the western coast of Madagascar in Melaky Region at . The area was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990 due to the unique geography, preserved mangrove forests, a ...

, a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

, is located 150 km north of Morondava. The road from Morondava is poor, but Tsingy de Bemaraha is reachable by 4x4 in approximately 10 hours. In the South there is the

Andranomena Reserve Andranomena Special Reserve is a wildlife reserve in Menabe Region, western Madagascar, near the city of Morondava and the rural commune of Bemanonga. Geography This reserve is north-east of the city of Morondava and from Baoababs' Alley in w ...

. Kirindy Forest at is a nature reserve about 60 km from Morondava where many of the local species of

lemur Lemurs ( ) (from Latin ''lemures'' – ghosts or spirits) are Strepsirrhini, wet-nosed primates of the Superfamily (biology), superfamily Lemuroidea (), divided into 8 Family (biology), families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 exist ...

s as well as other plants and animals can be spotted during a day or night trip.

Education

French international schools: * École de l'AllianceÉcole de l'Alliance
"

AEFE The Agency for French Education Abroad, or Agency for French Teaching Abroad, (french: Agence pour l'enseignement français à l'étranger; abbreviation: AEFE), is a national public agency under the administration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ...

. Retrieved on May 7, 2015.

Religion

Roman Catholic Diocese As of October 5, 2021, the Catholic Church in its entirety comprises 3,171 ecclesiastical jurisdictions, including over 652 archdioceses and 2,248 dioceses, as well as apostolic vicariates, apostolic exarchates, apostolic administrations, ap ...

(Cathedral of Mary Queen of the World). * Fiangonana Jesosy Mamonjy Morondava * FJKM - Fiangonan'i Jesoa Kristy eto Madagasikara (

Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar The Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar ( mg, Fiangonan'i Jesoa Kristy eto Madagasikara; FJKM) is the second-largest Christian denomination in Madagascar. The current officers include the Rev. Ammi Irako Andriamahazosoa, President; the Rev. Jean ...

)

Climate

References

External links

*
What are the historical causes of deforestation in Madagascar and what is the situation today?
{{Authority control Cities in Madagascar Populated places in Menabe Regional capitals in Madagascar