the most densely populated part of the island and are characterized by terraced, rice-growing valleys lying between grassy, deforested hills. To the west of the highlands, the grassy and increasingly arid terrain gradually slopes down to the Mozambique Channel. Madagascar's highest peaks arise from three prominent highland massifs: Maromokotro 9,436 ft (2,876 m) in the Tsaratanana Massif is the island's highest point, followed by Boby Peak 2,658 m (8,720 ft) in the Andringitra Massif and Tsiafajavona 2,643 m (8,671 ft) in the Ankaratra Massif. To the east, the Canal des Pangalanes is a chain of man-made and natural lakes connected by French-built canals just inland from the east coast, running parallel to it for some 600 km (370 mi). The western and southern sides, which lie in the rain shadow of the central highlands, are home to tropical dry forests, thorn forests, and deserts and xeric shrublands. Presumably due to relatively lower population densities, Madagascar's dry deciduous rain forest has been better preserved than the eastern rain forests or the original woodlands of the central plateau. The western coast features many protected harbors, but silting is a major problem caused by sediment from the high levels of inland erosion carried by rivers crossing the broad western plains.[13] The diversity of the Madagascan landscape: rice production in the central highlands, the desert-like plains of Isalo National Park, the Avenue of the Baobabs near Morondava, the rain forests of the eastern coast and the spiny forests of the south. Climate The combination of southeastern trade winds and northwestern monsoon winds produce a hot rainy season (November—April) with frequently destructive cyclones, and a relatively cooler dry season (May—October). Broadly speaking, the climate is tropical along the coast, temperate inland, moderately dry in the west, and arid in the south. Rain clouds, originating over the Indian Ocean, discharge much of their moisture over the island's eastern coast where precipitation, as heavy as 3,800 mm (150 in) per year, supports the area's rain forest ecosystem.[citation needed] The central highlands are both drier and cooler, while the west coast is drier still, with high aridity in the southwest and southern part of the island where a semi-desert climate prevails. Tropical cyclones annually cause damage to infrastructure and local economies as well as loss of life.[14] In 2004 Cyclone Gafilo became the strongest cyclone ever recorded to hit Madagascar and killed 172 people, left 214,260 homeless[15] and caused over $250 million in damage. Ecology Main articles: Wildlife of Madagascar, Fauna of Madagascar, and Agroecology in Madagascar The Madagascar periwinkle has been proposed as an alternative treatment for leukemia and Hodgkin's disease.[16] As a result of the island's long isolation from neighboring continents, Madagascar is home to a vast array of plants and animals, many found nowhere else on Earth.[17] Approximately 90% of all plant and animal species found in Madagascar are endemic,[18] including the lemurs (a type of prosimian primate), the carnivorous fossa and many avian species. This distinctive ecology has led some ecologists to refer to Madagascar as the "eighth continent",[19] and the island has been classified by Conservation International as a biodiversity hotspot.[17] Over 10,000 plant species are native to Madagascar, of which 90% are found nowhere else in the world.[20] Seven plant families are only found here, the highest number of any biodiversity hotspot in the world.[17] The plant family Didiereaceae, composed of four genera and 11 species, is limited to the spiny forests of southwestern Madagascar. Four-fifths of the world's Pachypodium species are endemic to the island. Three-fourths of Madagascar's 960 orchid species are found here alone, as are six of the world's eight baobab species. The island is also home to around 170 palm species, three times as many as are found on mainland Africa; 165 of these are endemic. Many native plant species are used as effective herbal remedies for a variety of afflictions, including the Madagascar periwinkle, which has recently been proposed as an alternative treatment for leukemia and Hodgkin's disease.[16] The traveler's palm, endemic to the eastern rain forests,[21] is highly iconic of Madagascar and is featured in the national emblem as well as the Air Madagascar logo.[22] The ring-tailed lemur is one of around 100 known species and subspecies of lemur found only in Madagascar.[23] Like its flora, Madagascar's fauna is likewise diverse and exhibits a high rate of endemism. Lemurs have been characterized as "Madagascar's flagship mammal species" by Conservation International.[17] In the absence of monkeys and other competitors, these primates have adapted to a wide range of habitats and diversified into numerous species. As of 2008, there were officially 99 species and subspecies of lemur, 39 of which have been described by zoologists between 2000 and 2008.[24] They are almost all classified as rare, vulnerable, or endangered. At least 17 species of lemur have become extinct since man arrived on Madagascar, all of which were larger than the surviving lemur species.[25] The biodiversity of fauna in Madagascar extends beyond prosimians to the wider animal population. A number of other mammals, including the cat-like fossa, are endemic to Madagascar. Over 300 species of bird have been recorded on the island, of which over 60% (including four families and 42 genera) are endemic.[17] The few families and genera of reptile that have reached Madagascar have diversified into more than 260 species, with over 90% of these being endemic[26] (including one endemic family).[17] The island is home to two-thirds of the world's chameleon species,[26] and researchers have proposed that Madagascar may represent the origin of all chameleon species. Endemic fishes on Madagascar include two families, 14 genera and over 100 species, primarily inhabiting the island's freshwater lakes and rivers. Although invertebrate species remain poorly studied on Madagascar relative to other wildlife, researchers have found high rates of endemism among the known species. All 651 species of terrestrial snail are endemic, as are a majority of the island's butterflies, scarab beetles, lacewings, spiders and dragonflies.[17] Environmental challenges Main articles: Deforestation in Madagascar and Illegal logging in Madagascar Madagascar's varied fauna and flora are endangered by human activity.[27] Since the arrival of humans 2,000 years ago, Madagascar has lost more than 90% of its original forest.[28] Key contributors to the loss of forest cover include the use of coffee as a cash crop,[29] illegal logging, and slash-and-burn activity, locally called tavy. This traditional practice was imported to Madagascar by the earliest settlers from Indonesia around 2,000 years ago and has strong cultural meaning, in addition to its practical value as an agricultural technique.[30] Tavy (slash-and-burn) destruction of native forest habitat is widespread (left), causing massive erosion (center) and silting of rivers (right). Habitat destruction and hunting have threatened many of Madagascar's endemic species or driven them to extinction. This process is exemplified by the extinction of the elephant bird, an endemic giant ratite that was once the world's largest bird. This species, whose average height was over 3 metres (10 ft), has been extinct since at least the 17th century, most likely due to human hunting of adult birds and poaching of their massive eggs for food.[31] Numerous subfossil lemur species also vanished with the arrival of human settlers to the island, and today most extant lemurs are listed as endangered or threatened species due to habitat destruction. Many species have gone extinct over the course of the centuries, as a growing population put greater pressures on lemur habitats and, among some populations, increased the rate of lemur hunting for food.[32] Under President Marc Ravalomanana, a vigorous effort was made to expand Madagascar's protected natural areas. At the 2003 IUCN World Parks Congress in Durban, Ravalomanana announced the Durban Vision, a bold initiative to more than triple the area under protection from approximately 17,000 km² to over 60,000 km² (an increase from 3% to 10% of Madagascar's area). As of 2011, areas protected by the state included five Strict Nature Reserves (Réserves Naturelles Intégrales), 21 Wildlife Reserves (Réserves Spéciales) and 21 National Parks (Parcs Nationaux).[33] In 2007 six of the national parks were declared a joint World Heritage Site under the name Rainforests of the Atsinanana. These six parks are Marojejy, Masoala, Ranomafana, Zahamena, Andohahela and Andringitra.[34] Local timber merchants are harvesting scarce species of rosewood trees from protected rainforests such as Marojejy National Park and exporting the wood to China for the production of luxury furniture and musical instruments.[35] To raise public awareness of Madagascar's environmental challenges, the Wildlife Conservation Society opened an exhibit entitled "Madagascar!" in June 2008 at the Bronx Zoo in New York.[36] History Main article: History of Madagascar Early period Malagasy ancestry reflects a blend of Southeast Asian and East African roots Most archaeologists estimate that the earliest settlers arrived in outrigger canoes from southern Borneo in successive waves throughout the period between 350 BCE and 550 CE, making Madagascar one of the last major landmasses on Earth to be settled by humans.[37] Upon arrival, early settlers practiced slash-and-burn agriculture to clear the coastal rainforests for cultivation. The first settlers encountered Madagascar's abundance of megafauna, including giant lemurs, elephant birds, giant fossa and the Malagasy hippopotamus, which have since become extinct due to hunting and habitat destruction.[38] By 600 CE groups of these early settlers had begun clearing the forests of the central highlands.[39] A wave of Bantu-speaking East African migrants arrived around 1000 CE and introduced zebu which were kept in large herds.[30] Irrigated rice paddies emerged in the central highland Betsileo Kingdom by 1600 and were extended with terraced paddies throughout the neighboring Kingdom of Imerina a century later.[39] The rising intensity of land cultivation and the ever-increasing demand for zebu pasturage in the central highlands had largely transformed the central highlands from a forest ecosystem to grassland by the 17th century.[30] The oral histories of the Merina people, who may have arrived in the central highlands between 400 and 1000 years ago, describe encountering an established population they called the Vazimba. Probably the descendants of an earlier and less technologically advanced Austronesian settlement wave, the Vazimba were expelled from the highlands by Merina kings Andriamanelo, Ralambo and Andrianjaka in the 16th and early 17th centuries.[40] Today the spirits of the Vazimba are revered as tompontany (ancestral masters of the land) by many traditional Malagasy communities.[41] Pirate cemetery at Île Sainte-Marie, surrounded by ravinala (Traveler's Palm) Madagascar was an important transoceanic trading hub connecting ports of the Indian Ocean in the early centuries following human settlement. The written history of Madagascar begins in the 7th century when Arabs established trading posts along the northwest coast and introduced Islam, the Arabic script (used to transcribe the Malagasy language in a form of writing known as sorabe), Arab astrology and other cultural elements.[14] European contact began in 1500, when the Portuguese sea captain Diogo Dias sighted the island.[10] The French established trading posts along the east coast in the late 17th century. From about 1774 to 1824, Madagascar gained prominence among pirates and European traders, particularly those involved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The small island of Nosy Boroha off the northeastern coast of Madagascar has been proposed by some historians as the site of the legendary pirate utopia of Libertalia.[42] Many European sailors were shipwrecked on the coasts of the island, among them Robert Drury, whose journal is one of the few written depictions of life in southern Madagascar during the 18th century.[43] The wealth generated by maritime trade spurred the rise of organized kingdoms on the island, some of which had grown quite powerful by the 17th century.[44] Among these were the Betsimisaraka alliance of the eastern coast and the Sakalava chiefdoms of Menabe and Boina on the west coast. The Kingdom of Imerina, located in the central highlands with its capital at the royal palace of Antananarivo, emerged at around the same time under the leadership of King Andriamanelo.[45] Kingdom of Madagascar Main article: Merina Kingdom King Andrianampoinimerina (1787–1810) Upon its emergence in the early 17th century, the highland kingdom of Imerina was initially a minor power relative to the larger coastal kingdoms[45] and grew even weaker in the early 18th century when King Andriamasinavalona divided it among his four sons. Following a century of warring and famine, Imerina was reunited in 1793 by King Andrianampoinimerina (1787–1810).[46] From his capital at Ambohimanga, this Merina king rapidly expanded his rule over neighboring principalities, with the intention of bringing the entire island under his control,[47] an ambition largely achieved by his son and successor, King Radama I (1810–1828). Radama concluded a treaty in 1817 with the British governor of Mauritius to abolish the lucrative slave trade in return for British military and financial assistance. Artisan missionary envoys from the London Missionary Society began arriving in 1818 and included such key figures as James Cameron, David Jones and David Griffiths, who established schools, transcribed the Malagasy language using the Roman alphabet, translated the Bible, and introduced a variety of new technologies to the island.[48] Radama's successor, Queen Ranavalona I (1828–1861), responded to increasing political and cultural encroachment on the part of Britain and France by issuing a royal edict prohibiting the practice of Christianity in Madagascar and pressuring most foreigners to leave the territory. Among those who continued to reside in Imerina were Jean Laborde, an entrepreneur who developed munitions and other industries on behalf of the monarchy, and Joseph-François Lambert, with whom then-Prince Radama II signed a controversial trade agreement termed the Lambert Charter. Succeeding his mother, Radama II (1861–1863) attempted to relax the queen's stringent policies, but was overthrown two years later by Prime Minister Rainivoninahitriniony (1852–1865) and an alliance of courtiers, who sought to end the absolute power of the monarch.[citation needed] Following the coup, the courtiers offered Radama's queen Rasoherina (1863–1868) the opportunity to rule, if she would accept a power sharing arrangement with the Prime Minister—a new social contract that would be sealed by a political marriage between them.[49] Queen Rasoherina accepted, first wedding Rainivoninahitriniony, then later deposing him and wedding his brother, Prime Minister Rainilaiarivony (1864–1895), who would go on to marry Queen Ranavalona II (1868–1883) and Queen Ranavalona III (1883–1897) in succession.[50] French colonization Primarily on the basis that the Lambert Charter had not been respected, France invaded Madagascar in 1883 in what became known as the first Franco-Hova War.[51] At the war's end, Madagascar ceded the northern port town of Antsiranana (Diego Suarez) to France and paid 560,000 francs to Lambert's heirs.[52] In 1890, the British accepted the full formal imposition of a French protectorate on the island, but French authority was not acknowledged by the government of Madagascar. To force capitulation, the French bombarded and occupied the harbor of Toamasina on the east coast, and Mahajanga on the west coast, in December 1894 and January 1895 respectively.[53] A French military flying column then marched toward Antananarivo, losing many men to malaria and other diseases. Reinforcements came from Algeria and Sub-Saharan Africa. Upon reaching the city in September 1895, the column bombarded the Rova palace with heavy artillery, causing heavy casualties and leading Queen Ranavalona III to surrender.[54] France annexed Madagascar in 1896 and dissolved the 103-year-old Merina monarchy, sending the royal family into exile on Reunion Island and in Algeria.[55] Under colonial rule, plantations were established for the production of a variety of export crops.[56] Wide paved boulevards and gathering places were constructed in the capital city of Antananarivo[57] and the Rova palace compound was turned into a museum.[58] Additional schools were built, particularly in rural and coastal areas where the schools of the Merina had not reached. Education became mandatory between the ages of 6 to 13 and focused primarily on French language and practical skills.[59] The Merina royal tradition of taxes paid in the form of labor was continued under the French and used to construct a railway and roads linking key coastal cities to Antananarivo.[60] Malagasy troops fought for France in World War I.[10] In the 1930s the island was identified by Nazi leadership as a potential site for the deportation of Europe's Jews,[61] and during the Second World War was the site of a battle between the Vichy government and the British.[62] The occupation of France during the Second World War tarnished the prestige of the colonial administration in Madagascar and galvanized the growing independence movement, leading to the Malagasy Uprising of 1947.[63] This movement led the French to establish reformed institutions in 1956 under the Loi Cadre (Overseas Reform Act), and Madagascar moved peacefully towards independence. The Malagasy Republic was proclaimed on October 14, 1958, as an autonomous state within the French Community. A period of provisional government ended with the adoption of a constitution in 1959 and full independence on June 26, 1960.[64] Independent state Philibert Tsiranana, first president of Madagascar (1960-1972) Since regaining independence, Madagascar has transitioned through four republics with corresponding revisions to its constitution. The First Republic (1960–1972), under the leadership of French-appointed President Philibert Tsiranana, was characterized by a continuation of strong economic and political ties to France.[14] Many high-level technical positions were filled by French expatriates, and French teachers, textbooks and curricula continued to be used in schools around the country. Popular resentment over Tsiranana's tolerance for this "neo-colonial" arrangement inspired a series of student protests that overturned his administration in 1972. Gabriel Ramanantsoa, a Major General in the army, was appointed interim President and Prime Minister that same year, but low public approval forced him to step down in 1975. Colonel Richard Ratsimandrava was appointed to succeed him but was assassinated six days into his tenure. General Gilles Andriamahazo ruled after him for four months before being replaced by another military appointee: Vice Admiral Didier Ratsiraka, who ushered in the socialist-Marxist Second Republic that ran under his tenure from 1975 to 1993. This period saw a political alignment with the Eastern Bloc countries and a shift toward economic insularity. These policies, coupled with economic pressures stemming from the 1973 oil crisis, resulted in the rapid collapse of Madagascar's economy and a sharp decline in living standards.[14] Rats