Two Ancient Ancient Ways Landed on a Living Island

Madagascar’s Cloffs, rolling plains, and raging rivers were not formed by a single violent event. Instead, the island’s inspired landscape took form through two tectonic cracks that took place over tens of millions of years.

These moved the land, redirected the rivers, and saved the amazing situation on the island – the steep cliffs that fall into the sea of ​​India in the east and the soft plains that fall in the channel of Mozambique in the west. Together, those forces create not only a stunning landscape but also one of the world’s richest ecosystems.

Two Ancient Flies, A Wonderful Island

Long before Madagascar stood alone in the ocean, it was part of the great ancient goldwana. About 170 million years ago, the first Big Tectonic break separated Africa. The crust folded upward, forming the masten escarpment, and rivers flowed eastward toward the Indian Ocean, cutting deep valleys into the rising plain.

About 80 million years later, another Rift opened – this time between Madagascar, India, and the Seychelles. The island is full again, but on the other side. The land that once lay to the east began to sink to the west, reversing the flow of the river and diverting the leading water from the east towards the east. The high fault of the Western Escarty was raised in the scattered heights, while a new, steep cliff line arose on the eastern coast.

“Water isolation is key to Madagascar’s ecosystem,” said Romano Cleentacci, a geologist at Eth Zurich and lead author of the new scientific paper. “Each time the island grows, the dividing line of rivers flowing east or west crosses the island, changing the land and erosion of mine.”

The rivers that guide the world

These TILTS didn’t just bend the river’s paths – they rebuilt the island’s landscape. Old riverbeds were abandoned, new valleys were carved out, and some rivers resurfaced. The result is arresting: Strong cliffs and fast rivers in the east, gentle slopes and many plains in the west.

Using satellite imagery, erosion data, and computer models, Clentoucci’s team has mapped Madagascar’s Slow Transform in incredible detail. They used cosmogenic isotopes such as beryllium-10 (^ 10be), which form in rocks exposed to cosmic rays, to quickly recalculate that the inforion repopulated the island over millions of years.

Their results show erosion remains very high in Mpumalanga Escrorpment. In the south, the clocks go back about 170 meters per million years. But in the north – the area serving the temple – the pace accelerates to 3,800 meters in another million years. By comparison, the central plateau rose slowly, only about seven meters per million years, preserving the remains of Madagascar.

Rebuilding the island in the north

To confirm the findings, the researchers worked with computer simulations of Madagascar’s geologic past. Each fiery event caused one side of the island to sink, creating a new escape that was gradually made. During the second rift, the sliding was reversed, and the entire area was re-formed.

The model also recreated the modern characteristics of Madagascar – sharp deformations in the atmosphere, gentle slopes, and “knickpoints,” or sudden drops in the River, that are lost today. These structural knickpoints are the evolution of ancient changes in the island’s traction system.

And this story does not end. Volcanic and tectonic forces continue to reshape Madagascar today, especially in regions such as the Ankaratra Volcanic field and the Alaotra-Angay Graven. These active areas are still changing river courses, submerging parts of the plateau, and producing more earthquakes – signs that the island’s crust is not resting.

A place where life is played

Madagascar’s Indiversity Biodiversity – From lemurs and chameleons to baobabs – has long been a focus of isolation and climate. Clentocci’s research adds another important element: geology.

The team found a strong connection between rates of erosion and plant diversity in the Middle East. When the slopes were steep and the rivers flowed frequently, the plant species multiplied – from about 1,200 in the south to more than 2,000 in the north. Rain alone cannot explain the difference. Instead, the constant smoking of the world seems to have isolated areas and species destined to evolve differently.

In short, Madagascar’s changing landscape acted as a “dead pump.” When rivers changed course or valleys deepened, people became isolated and began to evolve independently. That process helped produce the island’s amazing fauna – where more than 90% of the mammals and reptiles and more than 80% of the plants are found nowhere else in the world.

“Our research shows that ancient tectonic forces are reshaping Madagascar’s terrain,” said Clentocci. “By submerging the island and changing its main rivers and mountains, these forces created isolated areas where species emerged from isolation – especially in the eastern part of the world.”

Lessons from the “silent” continent

The case of Madagascar challenges the thinker that the so-called “Passive” Margins Cowning – such as those in Brazil, South Africa, or Australia – are physically stable. Even after the end of fiery periods, slow but continuous movements can continue to regenerate the earth and influence the environment.

This understanding may also explain why some “primitive” islands host biodiversity. Even the fury of natural shifts, spread over millions of years, can shape how species develop, adapt and adapt.

Why is it important

By linking geology and biodiversity, this study shows how life is deeply tied to a changing world. The living and non-living parts of our planet evolve together – shaping each other over time.

For conservationists, the findings emphasize protecting all areas, not isolated habitats. The same forces and tones and erosion that once created diversity can, if disturbed, completely destroy nature.

As Madagascar continues to move and wear, it exists as living proof that the world will never be still – it climbs, breathes, and builds life in the process.

Research findings are available online in the scientific journal.

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