Madagascar: The Exotic Island

Part I of Essay
Looking at a map of the southern hemisphere, one wouldn't expect such a seemingly "small" island to be so exotic and bountiful, but the island of Madagascar is just that. A 226,658 square mile (587,041 square kilometers) piece of land, with a a coastline of about 2,480 mile ....

Part II of Essay
.... periodic heavy rains and destructive floods. Once covered by forests, most of the island now has a savannah-steppe vegetation with a few forests in the west and evergreen forests on the eastern edge of the central plateau. An interesting climate for such a unique place. The animals there are also different and the likes of which not found anywhere else; not even in Africa. 50 species of lemurs inhabit the island, as well as 800 different types of butterflies. Though near the once-dubbed "Dark Continent", the species and vegitation seem to hav ....