Toamasina Tamatave | |
|---|---|
 Toamasina | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Toamasina Location in Madagascar | |
| Coordinates:18°09′18″S49°24′36″E / 18.15500°S 49.41000°E /-18.15500; 49.41000 | |
| Country |  Madagascar |
| Region | Atsinanana |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Nantenaina Rakotonirina |
| Area | |
• Total | 30.9 km2 (11.9 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 11 m (36 ft) |
| Population (2018 census) | |
• Total | 325,857 |
| • Density | 11,000/km2 (27,000/sq mi) |
| • Ethnicities | Betsimisaraka |
| Time zone | UTC3 (EAT) |
| Postal code | 501 |
| Area code | +261 |
| Climate | Af |
Toamasina (Malagasy pronunciation:[toˈmasinə̥]), meaning "like salt" or "salty", unofficially and inFrenchTamatave or in the past asPort aux prunes, is the capital of theAtsinanana region on the east coast ofMadagascar on theIndian Ocean. The city is the chief seaport of the country, situated 215 km (134 mi) northeast of its capital and largest cityAntananarivo. In 2018 Toamasina had a population of 325,857.[3]
Under French rule, 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 (natural rubber) and live animals. Communication with Europe was maintained by steamers of theMessageries Maritimes and the Havraise companies, and also withMauritius, and thence toSri Lanka, by the BritishUnion-Castle Line.[4]
During the colonial period, owing to the character of the soil and the formerly crowded native population, the town was often plagued byepidemics; theplague broke out in 1898, and again in 1900. Since the draining of the neighboring marshes, there is some improvement, although there are still outbreaks of malaria and other diseases, such aschikungunya.
Toamasina owes its importance to the existence of acoral reef which forms a spacious harbour, entered by two openings. The city center is built on a sandy peninsula which projects at right angles from the general coastline.
South of the town there is the mouth of theIvondro River in the Indian Ocean.
Toamasina features a trade-windtropical rainforest climate under theKöppen climate classification. While Toamasina has no truedry 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 are around 24 °C (75 °F), and warmer in the months of January and February, where high temperatures on average are 30 °C (86 °F). Toamasina averages 3,368.2 mm (132.61 in) of precipitation annually.
| Climate data for Toamasina (1991–2020, extremes 1889–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 37.4 (99.3) | 38.6 (101.5) | 39.0 (102.2) | 35.0 (95.0) | 34.0 (93.2) | 29.6 (85.3) | 31.2 (88.2) | 30.2 (86.4) | 30.6 (87.1) | 33.2 (91.8) | 33.0 (91.4) | 33.6 (92.5) | 38.6 (101.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.7 (87.3) | 30.9 (87.6) | 30.4 (86.7) | 29.5 (85.1) | 28.0 (82.4) | 26.4 (79.5) | 25.2 (77.4) | 25.5 (77.9) | 26.3 (79.3) | 27.5 (81.5) | 28.9 (84.0) | 30.2 (86.4) | 28.3 (82.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 26.9 (80.4) | 27.0 (80.6) | 26.7 (80.1) | 25.7 (78.3) | 24.2 (75.6) | 22.6 (72.7) | 21.3 (70.3) | 21.5 (70.7) | 22.1 (71.8) | 23.4 (74.1) | 24.8 (76.6) | 26.3 (79.3) | 24.4 (75.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 23.2 (73.8) | 23.1 (73.6) | 23.0 (73.4) | 21.9 (71.4) | 20.2 (68.4) | 18.7 (65.7) | 17.4 (63.3) | 17.3 (63.1) | 17.8 (64.0) | 19.3 (66.7) | 20.8 (69.4) | 22.3 (72.1) | 20.4 (68.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 18.0 (64.4) | 17.5 (63.5) | 17.0 (62.6) | 15.0 (59.0) | 13.2 (55.8) | 11.0 (51.8) | 11.8 (53.2) | 10.0 (50.0) | 11.0 (51.8) | 11.0 (51.8) | 13.5 (56.3) | 16.0 (60.8) | 10.0 (50.0) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 412.2 (16.23) | 438.0 (17.24) | 454.6 (17.90) | 299.6 (11.80) | 269.7 (10.62) | 276.8 (10.90) | 279.7 (11.01) | 178.5 (7.03) | 117.9 (4.64) | 98.9 (3.89) | 121.4 (4.78) | 250.6 (9.87) | 3,197.9 (125.91) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 18.5 | 17.4 | 19.5 | 15.7 | 17.2 | 19.7 | 21.3 | 17.3 | 13.8 | 12.1 | 10.9 | 15.4 | 198.8 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 83 | 83 | 85 | 84 | 85 | 85 | 84 | 85 | 83 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 84 |
| Mean monthlysunshine 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[5] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:Deutscher Wetterdienst (humidity, 1951–1967),[6] Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)[7] | |||||||||||||
The town is the railhead for theline to the capital. Pousse-pousse (bicycle rickshaws), tuk-tuk (motorized rickshaws), and taxis are available throughout Toamasina to get around the city. Toamasina is the northern end of theCanal des Pangalanes.
The port of Toamasina serves asMadagascar's most important gateway to theIndian Ocean and to the world.
The city is served byAmbalamanasy Airport, which has limited domestic and international service. The city is the country's main seaport for international shipping.
TheUniversity of Toamasina was founded in 1977. There is also aLycée Français de Tamatave, a French international school.
TheCHU Morafeno is the university hospital of Toamasina.
TheBarikadimy Stadium with a capacity 25,000 spectators. It mostly hosts football competitions and theAS Fortior andTia Kitra FC Toamasina.
Among theplaces of worship, they are predominantlyChristianchurches and temples:Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar,Malagasy Lutheran Church,Assemblies of God,Association of Bible Baptist Churches in Madagascar,Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toamasina (Catholic Church seated in the Cathedral of St. Joseph) andIglesia ni Cristo.[8] There are alsoMuslim mosques.
Toamasina istwinned with:
Saint-Étienne, FranceLe Port,Réunion[9]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Tamatave".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 387.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
Capital:Toamasina | ||
| Antanambao Manampotsy - 507 |  | |
| Mahanoro - 510 | ||
| Marolambo - 513 | ||
| Toamasina I - 501 | ||
| Toamasina II - 502 | ||
| Vatomandry - 517 | ||
| Vohabinany (Brickaville) - 508 | ||
7 districts; 75 communes | ||
