Betsiboka
| Betsiboka | ||
 River systems in Madagascar |
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| Data | ||
| location | Madagascar | |
| River system | Betsiboka | |
| muzzle | at Mahajanga in the Strait of Mozambique Coordinates: 15 ° 43 ′ 40 ″ S , 46 ° 16 ′ 30 ″ E 15 ° 43 ′ 40 ″ S , 46 ° 16 ′ 30 ″ E
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| length | 525 km | |
| Catchment area | 11,800 km² | |
 Estuary of the Betsiboka (not north ) |
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The Betsiboka River [ beˈtsibukḁ ] in northwest Madagascar with a water catchment area of 11,800 square kilometers is 525 kilometers long and is often called the Red River . It flows into the Bay of Bombeteka near the city of Mahajanga ( Majunga in French ) on the right bank .
course
The headwaters of the Betsiboka are at around 1600 meters above sea level. On his way to the sea in a north-westerly direction, he passes the capital Antananarivo in a wide arc about halfway through .
From Antananarivo the river meanders a lot and, after breaking through a mountain range , at the latest from the city of Maevatanana , forms a river bed at least twice as wide as would be necessary for normal water runoff. During the rainy season from the beginning of November to mid- March , the Betsiboka deposits enormous amounts of sediments (see alluvial soil ), which form sandbanks and, to a limited extent, lead to the occasional shift of the river bed. The river is navigable from the village of Bernarivo. A little later, Betsiboka's most important tributary flows , the Ikopa coming from the left , which comes from the same headwaters as the Betsiboka.
economy
From the coastal town of Mahajanga, the Betsiboka is navigable 140 kilometers upstream. The port and its related industries are important sources of income for the region. Since 2000 there has been a joint venture with a Japanese company that operates a shrimp farm on the peninsula south of the city .
In the upper reaches at 19 ° 1 ' S , 47 ° 43' E and 19 ° 15 ' S , 47 ° 51' E there are some reservoirs that are used to generate energy.
The river water is also used to irrigate the fields; The agriculture is the main source of income of Madagascar, in the lower reaches of the river, especially the cultivation of rice . Only a small part of the country is suitable for the cultivation of fruit and vegetables , after slash and burn had begun in the middle of the 19th century and, with the beginning of colonization, the overexploitation of wood had begun. Large stretches of land along the entire west coast used to be densely forested, whereas today they look more like a savannah . The effects of slash and burn, which is still in use, are clearly visible. Valuable nutrient, mineral and iron-rich topsoil is washed into the Betsiboka during the rainy season and turns it red. The estuary delta has been heavily silted up in the last 50 years, deep-going ships no longer reach the industrial facilities of Mahajanga; the cargo has to be reloaded onto smaller boats.
Flora and fauna
The banks of the Betsiboka are mostly still very original as gallery forest trained and accommodate the habitat of many living things. They include the lemur species red and brown maki , red-shouldered weasel lemur , the crown sifaka and the coquerel sifaka . In terms of birds, the giant silk cuckoo should be mentioned, the largest recently occurring cuckoo species with a size of over 50 centimeters .
Remarks
- ↑ That corresponds to about one fiftieth of the land area of Madagascar
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from September 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.mobot.org/mobot/madagascar/image.asp?relation=B77
- ↑ http://www.priori.ch/das_Buch/08.htm
- ↑ Development Cooperation, report by the KfW Development Bank
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from July 28, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.wildmadagascar.org/conservation/erosion.html
