The Mahavavy Sud, also known as the Mahavavy South, is a river in western

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. It flows from south to north through the

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Melaky Melaky is a region in northwestern Madagascar. It borders Boeny Region in northeast, Betsiboka in east, Bongolava in southeast and Menabe in south. The capital of the region is Maintirano. The population was estimated to be 309,805 in 2018 wit ...

Betsiboka Betsiboka is a region of Madagascar. It borders Boeny Region in north, Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha ...

Bongolava Bongolava is a region in central-western Madagascar. The capital of the region is Tsiroanomandidy. It had a population of 674,474 in 2018. Geography The region is situated in central-western Madagascar. It is bordered by Betsiboka, Melaky, Men ...

and

Boeny Boeny is a region in northwestern Madagascar. It borders Sofia Region to the northeast, Betsiboka to the south and Melaky to the southwest. The capital of the region is Mahajanga, and the population was 931,171 in 2018. The area of Boeny is . ...

. It has a length of approximately , and drains a basin of . It is distinct from the Mahavavy Nord several hundred km to the north.Aldegheri, M. (1972). Rivers and Streams on Madagascar. In: Battistini, R., Richard-Vindard, G. (eds) ''Biogeography and Ecology in Madagascar''. Monographiae Biologicae, vol 21. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7159-3_8 The Mahavavy Sud rises on the Andranofotsibe Massif at about 1000 meters elevation. It flows southwards, joined by the Kiranomena and Manamidona rivers which originate on the Famoizankova massif. The first 125 km of the river's course has a steep gradient, about 7 meters per kilometer. At Kandreho the river enters an east–west depression and is joined by the Mahakambana, which drains the western portion of the depression. Leaving the depression the river flows southwards through the Ankara and Kelifely limestone plateaus in deep gorges, and Kasijy Special Reserve is on the west bank of the river. The lower course of the river, below Sitampiky at 280 km from its source, runs through level country. The river's gradient is low, with a slope of 40 cm per km. The river is edged with marshes and shallow lakes, including lakes Kinkony and Katondro, which are replenished by the river during high water periods. The river forms a large delta as it empties into the

Mozambique Channel The Mozambique Channel (, , ) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long and across at its narrowest point, and reaches a depth of about off the coa ...

. The Mahavavy-Kinkony protected area covers much of the lower watershed, including Lake Kinkony and the river delta. It was designated Mahavavy-Kinkony harmonious protected landscape (''paysage harmonieux protégé'') on 21 April 2015 by Decree No. 2015-718, combining the 15,000-ha Lake Kinkony hunting reserve, created in 1972, and the Tsiombikibo Classified Forest (''Forêt Classée de Tsiombikibo''), established in 1957.Mahavavy Kinkony Site #66
''Protected Areas of Madagascar''. Accessed 28 November 2022. Mahavavy-Kinkony is designated an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

References

{{Rivers of Madagascar Betsiboka Bongolava Boeny Rivers of Bongolava Rivers of Melaky Rivers of Madagascar