Mananjary Estuary

The Mananjary River meets the Indian Ocean on Madagascar's southeastern coast. Near its mouth a narrow sandy dune lies between the sea and a lagoon, providing the site of old Mananjary. Local tradition calls the early settlement on the dune Masindrano and attributes its foundation to Ravalarivo, an ancestor associated with the Antambahoaka people. The river and lagoon give this stretch of coast its distinctive meeting of fresh and salt water.