Mozambique Channel

The southern Mozambique Channel separates Madagascar from the African mainland and opens southward into the Indian Ocean. Warm waters move through the channel in swirling currents and eddies, carrying marine life along the coast. Westward lie the sandy islands of Bazaruto and the bays of Mozambique; eastward stretches the coast of Madagascar. Ships crossing these waters joined the maritime routes of eastern Africa with the wider Indian Ocean.