Nosy Be (also
Nossi-bé) is an island located off the northwest coast of
MadagascarMadagascar, or Republic of Madagascar , is an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The main island, also called Madagascar, is the fourth-largest island in the world, and is home to 5% of the world's plant and animal species, of which more than 80% are endemic to...
. Nosy Be is Madagascar's largest and busiest
touristTourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other...
resort. It has an area of 312 km
2 and its population was officially estimated at 36,636 in 2001.
Nosy Be means "big island" in the
Malagasy languageMalagasy is the national language of Madagascar.-History:The Malagasy language is unrelated to nearby African languages, instead being the westernmost member of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family, a fact noted as long ago as the eighteenth century...
. The island was called
Assada during the early colonial era of the seventeenth century.
Nosy Be (also
Nossi-bé) is an island located off the northwest coast of
MadagascarMadagascar, or Republic of Madagascar , is an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The main island, also called Madagascar, is the fourth-largest island in the world, and is home to 5% of the world's plant and animal species, of which more than 80% are endemic to...
. Nosy Be is Madagascar's largest and busiest
touristTourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other...
resort. It has an area of 312 km
2 and its population was officially estimated at 36,636 in 2001.
Nosy Be means "big island" in the
Malagasy languageMalagasy is the national language of Madagascar.-History:The Malagasy language is unrelated to nearby African languages, instead being the westernmost member of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family, a fact noted as long ago as the eighteenth century...
. The island was called
Assada during the early colonial era of the seventeenth century. Nosy Be has been given several nicknames over the centuries, including "Nosy Manitra" (the scented island).
History
The first inhabitants of Nosy Be, before the arrival of the
SakalavaThe Sakalava is a traditional name for a group of people of Madagascar numbering approximately 700,000 in population. They occupy the Western edge of the island from Toliara in the south to Sambirano in the north...
, who represent the most numerous ethnic group on the island, belonged to small bands of Antankarana and Zafinofotsy. These people were joined later by some
ComorianComorian may refer to:* Something of or pertaining to the Comoro Islands, a region of Africa including Comoros* Something of, from, or related to Comoros, a country in the Comoro Islands...
s,
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
ns or Antandroy.
Nosy Be makes its first major appearance in Madagascar's history when
King Radama IRadama I "the Great" , the first king of Madagascar, united the island under his rule.In 1810, he succeeded his father Andrianampoinimerina as king of Merina, a small area in the central plateau of the island, around Antananarivo. Immediately, at the age of 17, he had to set out to put down...
announced that he intended to conquer the whole west of the red island up to the sea. That plan was eventually achieved when the Sakalava Kingdom of
BoinaBoina may refer to:* It is the Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan word for beret.* Boina is a fumarole field located in Djibouti* Boina, a former kingdom in Madagascar.* * Taxonomic synonym for Boinae, a subfamily of boid snakes....
came into his possession in 1837 when Queen
Tsiomeko of BoinaTsiomeko was the last Queen and monarch of Boina.Tsiomeko was the daughter of Taratra and a grand-niece of King Andriantsoly, who was driven out of Boina by Hova and whom her father had served as a "souer". She became queen in 1836, at age eight, succeeding Queen Oantitsy, the sister of King...
's army was defeated.
Geography
Nosy Be is located about eight kilometers (5 miles) from the coast of Madagascar in the
Mozambique ChannelThe Mozambique Channel is a portion of the Indian Ocean located between the island of Madagascar and southeast Africa, primarily the country of Mozambique. It was a World War II clashpoint during the Battle of Madagascar...
; several smaller islands are located nearby, including Nosy Komba, Nosy Mitsio, Nosy Sakatia, and Nosy Tanikely. The island's main town is
AndoanyAndoany, formerly and more commonly known as Hell-Ville , is a city in Madagascar with a population of 30,000. It lies on the island of Nosy Be, of which it is the capital. It is located at ....
.
The
volcanic3. Conduit
4. Base
5. Sill
6. Dike
7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano
8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano
10. Throat
11. Parasitic cone
12. Lava flow
13. Vent
14. Crater
15...
island has an area of about 312 km² (120 square miles), and reaches its highest peak at Mont Lokobe at 450m (1476 feet); the volcano is of
HoloceneThe Holocene is a geological epoch which began approximately 11 700 years ago . According to traditional geological thinking, the Holocene continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Neogene and Quaternary periods. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely...
origin but has not erupted in recorded history. There are eleven volcanic
crater lakeA Crater lake is a lake that forms in a volcanic crater, such as a maar, or in a caldera. Sometimes the latter are called Caldera lakes, but often this distinction is not made...
s on the island.
The island is known for having the world's smallest frog (
Stumpffia pygmaeaStumpffia pygmaea is a species of frog in the Microhylidae family.It is endemic to Madagascar.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, plantations , and heavily degraded former forest.It is threatened by habitat loss....
) and chameleon (
Brookesia minimaBrookesia minima, , is a diminutive chameleon "often said to be the smallest" or "probably the smallest" of the Chamaeleonidae.-Range:B...
). The
Lokobe ReserveLokobe Reserve is a nature reserve in northwestern Madagascar. It is located on southeastern side of Nosy Be, an island off the coast of Madagascar. It is known for its black lemurs and the beautiful Nosy Be Panther Chameleon.-References:***...
is one of Madagascar's five Strict Nature Reserves (
Réserves Naturelles Intégrales).
Nosy Be has a tropical climate. It is most humid in summer (December, January, February). The
TsaratananaTsaratanana is a town and commune in Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Tsaratanana, which is a part of Betsiboka Region in Mahajanga Province. The population of the commune was estimated to be approximately 18,000 in 2001 commune census....
massif partially protects the island from the strong north-east winds affecting the region in August or during tropical depressions.
Administration
Nosy Be is also home to a specific colour of
panther chameleonThe Panther Chameleon is a species of chameleon. It lives throughout the island of Madagascar in a tropical forest biome. Additionally, it has been introduced to Réunion and Mauritius....
(
Furcifer pardalis). The island constitutes a department within the
Diana regionDiana is a region in Madagascar. The region is the most northerly part of the island. It borders the adjacent regions of Sava to the east and Sofia to the south. It covers an area of 19,266 sq.km., and had an estimated population of 485,800 in 2004...
and the
Antsiranana ProvinceAntsiranana is a province of Madagascar with an area of 43,406 km
2. It has a population of 1,188,425 . Its capital is Antsiranana.Antsiranana Province borders the following provinces:*Toamasina - southeast*Mahajanga - southwest...
, and is organized as the City of Nosy Be (Commune urbaine). Its mayor is Mr Jaovita.
Transportation
The island is served by
Fascene AirportFascene Airport is an airport in located on Nosy Be , an island located just off the northwest coast of Madagascar, in the Antsiranana Province.-Airlines and destinations:*Air Austral...
. The airport has direct flights from Europe on
CorsairflyCorsair S.A. trading as Corsairfly, is an airline based in Rungis, France. It is currently the second largest French airline after Air France and operates international scheduled and charter services to 62 European destinations, the French overseas territories, Africa and North America...
and
Air ItalyAir Italy S.p.A. is an airline based in Gallarate, Italy. It operates scheduled services for tour operators to destinations in Europe, Brazil and Kenya. Its main bases are Naples International Airport and Verona Airport with a hub at Malpensa Airport, Milan....
.