Strait, western Indian Ocean.
Located between Madagascar and Mozambique, it is about 950 mi (1,530 km) long, 250–625 mi (400–1,000 km) wide, and has a maximum depth of 10,000 ft (3,000 m). An important shipping route for eastern Africa, it receives all major Madagascar rivers and fronts the ports of Mahajanga and Toliara in Madagascar. Along the Mozambican coast are the mouth of the Zambezi River and the ports of Maputo and Beira .