Talk:Chaukhira

Geology

Chaukhira is an archipelago of 5 islands in the southern mouth of the Aab-e-Farus. The waters around the islands are called the al-Zelaq Straits.

The largest and most western island is called Chaukhira Maior (the small island off of it's northeastern coast is called Chaukhira Minor and is hardly referenced uniquely). The second largest, to the northeast is Taizerbo, the smallest to the extreme north east is Taoulga, coming back to the southwest is Ghat, and in the center of the island cluster is Akhdaran.

The islands are the remains of a land bridge that used to connect the southern two continental islands of Alshar. At the end of the last ice age when sea levels rose, the Aab-e-Farus overtopped the lower laying areas of the land bridge and only the islands of Chaukhira and those big islands to the south remain.

Because of this phenomenon, the geography that remains to form the island chain is hilly with low lying areas being built up by silty undercurrents coming from the Aab-e-Farus. This makes the northern coasts very fertile and verdant. The northern faces of the hilly landscape is also quite fertile as the Antarctic atmosphere pulls warm air out of the Aab-e-Farus extending the growing season and keeping it humid year round.

Over the past few thousand years of human settlement the nutrient rich silt has been spread throughout the islands, but the heavily rains in the monsoon season rapidly erode anything that is not secured by deep roots. As such much of the islands hillsides have been terraced for cultivation and rivers and streams have been the subject of extensive terraforming and human intervention.

Climate

Chaukhira= Northern most point: 14.689S, southern most point: 16.254 S

• Geography_of_Madagascar#Climate northern tip
  • tropical wet and dry