032 - TSINGY OF BEMARAHA, MORONDAVA REGION, MADAGASCAR (18°47' S, 45°03' E).
The strange mineral forest of Tsingy of Bemaraha stands on the western coast of Madagascar. This geological formation, called karst, is the result of erosion, as acid rains have gradually dissolved the stone of the chalky plateau and carved out sharp ridges that can rise to 30 m. This nearly impenetrable labyrinth (tsingy is the Malagasy term for “walking on tiptoe”) shelters its own unique flora and fauna, which have not yet been completely recorded. The site was declared a nature reserve in 1927 and a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1990. Madagascar is a 587,000 km2 land mass created by continental drift. Isolated for 165 million years in the Indian Ocean off the coast of southern Africa, it has developed distinctive and diverse animal and plant species, sometimes with archaic characteristics. It has an exceptional rate of endemism: more than 90 percent of the approximately 12,000 plant species and 80 percent of the recorded animal species are unique to the island. Nonetheless, many Madagascan species are now at risk of extinction.