Toamasina

Toamasina
Tamatave

Toamasina
Toamasina

Location in Madagascar

Coordinates: 18°09′S 49°25′E / 18.150°S 49.417°E / -18.150; 49.417
Country  Madagascar
Region Atsinanana
Area
 • Total 20 km2 (8 sq mi)
Population (2013)
 • Total 274,667
 • Density 14,000/km2 (36,000/sq mi)
Time zone EAT (UTC3)
Climate Af

Toamasina [toˈmasinə̥], meaning "like salt" or "salty", unofficially and in French also Tamatave, is the capital of the Atsinanana region on the east coast of Madagascar on the Indian Ocean. The city is the chief seaport of the country, situated 215 km (134 mi) northeast of its capital and biggest city Antananarivo, near the centre of the eastern coast at 18 10 S, 49 32 E. According to the 2013 official estimate, Toamasina had a population of 274,667.[1] The city is served by Toamasina Airport.

Overview

Toamasina owes its importance to the existence of a coral reef which forms a spacious and fairly commodious harbour, entered by two openings. The city center is built on a sandy peninsula which projects at right angles from the general coastline. On this are crowded together a considerable number of houses, with shops and merchant offices located in the main thoroughfares.

The port of Toamasina (Tamatave) serves as Madagascar's most important gateway to the Indian Ocean and to the world.

The city has wide palm tree-lined avenues and a wide selection of hotels and restaurants. The beaches in this area are famously beautiful, although sharks and pollution often prevent swimming and watersports. Bazary Be is a famous colorful street market, specializing in exotic spices and locally made handicrafts. The central market in the heart of the city is one of the most popular sites in the city.

History

Under French domination, Toamasina was the seat of several foreign consuls, as well as of numerous French officials, and was the chief port for the capital and the interior. Imports consisted principally of piece-goods, farinaceous foods and iron and steel goods; main exports were gold dust, raffia, hides, caoutchouc (rubber) and live animals. Communication with Europe was maintained by steamers of the Messageries Maritimes and the Havraise companies, and also with Mauritius, and thence to Sri Lanka, by the British Union-Castle Line.[2]

During the colonial period, owing to the character of the soil and the formerly crowded native population, the town was often plagued by epidemics: the plague broke out in 1898, and again in 1900; but since the draining of the neighboring marshes, there was an improvement. After 1895 the native population was removed from the town and settled in a new village to the north-west.[2]

Gervais Rakotomanana is the president of the city by special delegation since 30 May 2007. The former mayor, Roland Ratsiraka, was suspended after a decision in the municipal council in early 2007.

Religion

Toamasina is the see of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toamasina, Metropolitan of four suffragan dioceses.

Transport

The town is the railhead for the line to the capital. Pousse-Pousse are available throughout Toamasina to get around the city. Toamasina is the northern end of the Canal des Pangalanes.

Climate

Toamasina features a tropical rainforest climate under the Köppen climate classification. While Toamasina has no true dry season month where less than 60 mm (2.4 in) of precipitation (on average) falls, the seaport has noticeably wetter and drier periods of the year. September–November is the driest period of the year, while February–April is the wettest time of the year. Average temperatures are relatively constant throughout the course of the year, though it is slightly cooler in the months of July and August, where average highs hover around 24 degrees Celsius and warmer in the months of January and February, where high temperatures on average reaches 30 degrees Celsius. Toamasina averages roughly 3368.2 mm of precipitation annually.

Climate data for Toamasina
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 37
(99)		 35
(95)		 36
(97)		 33
(91)		 30
(86)		 28
(82)		 28
(82)		 27
(81)		 29
(84)		 30
(86)		 32
(90)		 35
(95)		 37
(99)
Average high °C (°F) 30.1
(86.2)		 30.3
(86.5)		 29.5
(85.1)		 28.8
(83.8)		 27.3
(81.1)		 25.6
(78.1)		 24.8
(76.6)		 24.9
(76.8)		 25.8
(78.4)		 26.9
(80.4)		 28.4
(83.1)		 29.4
(84.9)		 27.6
(81.7)
Daily mean °C (°F) 26.0
(78.8)		 26.1
(79)		 25.5
(77.9)		 24.6
(76.3)		 22.9
(73.2)		 21.1
(70)		 20.4
(68.7)		 20.5
(68.9)		 21.3
(70.3)		 22.7
(72.9)		 24.3
(75.7)		 25.5
(77.9)		 23.4
(74.1)
Average low °C (°F) 22.5
(72.5)		 22.7
(72.9)		 22.4
(72.3)		 21.4
(70.5)		 19.5
(67.1)		 17.8
(64)		 17.1
(62.8)		 17.0
(62.6)		 17.3
(63.1)		 18.7
(65.7)		 20.4
(68.7)		 21.9
(71.4)		 19.9
(67.8)
Record low °C (°F) 21
(70)		 21
(70)		 20
(68)		 19
(66)		 17
(63)		 14
(57)		 15
(59)		 13
(55)		 15
(59)		 16
(61)		 17
(63)		 19
(66)		 13
(55)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 410.1
(16.146)		 382.1
(15.043)		 478.4
(18.835)		 322.8
(12.709)		 228.3
(8.988)		 259.0
(10.197)		 288.6
(11.362)		 218.2
(8.591)		 121.1
(4.768)		 132.6
(5.22)		 169.7
(6.681)		 357.3
(14.067)		 3,368.2
(132.606)
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) 19 17 21 18 17 18 22 20 15 13 14 17 211
Average relative humidity (%) 83 83 85 84 85 85 84 85 83 82 83 84 84
Mean monthly sunshine hours 224.7 198.2 191.0 196.9 192.1 162.5 162.8 184.6 209.7 232.7 236.0 219.2 2,410.4
Source #1: NOAA[3]
Source #2: BBC Weather (record highs and lows)[4] Weltwertter Spiegel Online (humidity only)[5]

Education

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Toamasina is twinned with:

The city of Holon used to have a street named Tamatave Street (רחוב טמטב), named so in the sixties when Israel had cordial relations with Madagascar. After the assassination of Rehav'am Ze'evi in the 2000s, the street was renamed after him.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Institut National de la Statistique, Antananarivo.
  2. 1 2 Chisholm 1911, p. 387.
  3. ↑ "Tamatave/Toamasina Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Average Conditions Toamasina, Madagascar". BBC Weather. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Wetter im Detail: Klimadaten". Spiegel Online.
  6. ↑ Le Port est jumelé à quatre villes portuaires (French)

References

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Toamasina.

Coordinates: 18°09′S 49°25′E / 18.150°S 49.417°E / -18.150; 49.417

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