Miandrivazo

Miandrivazo lies beside the Mahajilo River in western Madagascar, where the river valleys descend from the central highlands toward Menabe. The Mahajilo joins the Tsiribihina, whose waters continue west to the Mozambique Channel. The settlement stands in a low, enclosed valley between the highland and western kingdoms. In the early nineteenth century Merina king Radama I campaigned in Menabe against its Sakalava rulers, bringing the valley into the contest between these powers.