Geography of Guadeloupe

In green (with red legend) are the constituent parts of the Guadeloupe région/département among the Leeward Islands. The 2 islands of Guadeloupe proper are: Basse-Terre Island (left) and Grande-Terre (right).

The department of Guadeloupe comprises five islands: Guadeloupe island composed of Basse-Terre Island and Grande-Terre (separated from Basse-Terre by a narrow sea channel called salt river) and the dependencies composed by the adjacent French islands of La Désirade, Les Saintes and Marie-Galante. Basse-Terre has a rough volcanic relief whilst Grande-Terre features rolling hills and flat plains. Guadeloupe was formed from multiple volcanoes, of which only Basse-Terre is not extinct.^[1]

Further to the north, Saint-Barthélemy and the French part of Saint Martin come under the jurisdiction of Guadeloupe. On December 7, 2003, both of these areas voted to become an overseas territorial collectivity.^[2]

Hurricanes

Map of the Guadeloupe archipelago

Topography

View of La Désirade from Pointe des Châteaux, the easternmost part of Grande-Terre.

The department was devastated by several hurricanes in modern times:

• On 12 September, 1928 Okeechobee hurricane caused extensive damage and killed thousands of people.
• On 22 August 1964, Guadeloupe was ravaged by Hurricane Cleo, which killed 14 people.
• Two years later, on 27 September 1966, Hurricane Inez caused extensive damage and killed 27 people, mostly in Grande-Terre. Charles De Gaulle visited the island after the hurricanes and declared it a disaster area.
• On 17 September 1989, Category 4 Hurricane Hugo caused very extensive damage, left more than 35,000 homeless, destroyed 10,000 homes, 100 percent of the banana crops, and 60 percent of the sugar cane crops.
• From late August to mid September 1995, the island was in the path of three successive cyclones: Tropical Storm Iris on 28 August caused minor damages; Hurricane Luis on 5 September caused moderate damages in north coast of Grande-Terre; Hurricane Marilyn on 15 September caused moderate damages in Basse-Terre.
• On 20 September 1998, Hurricane Georges pounded the islands, decimated the banana crops at nearly 100%.

Statistics

Location

Caribbean, islands in the eastern Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico.

Geographic coordinates

16°15′N 61°35′W / 16.250°N 61.583°W

Map references

Central America and the Caribbean

Area

• Total: 1,628 km² (629 sq mi)
• Land: 1,554 km² (600 sq mi)
• Water: 74 km² (29 sq mi)
• Note: Guadeloupe department is composed of six inhabited islands: the main islands which formed Guadeloupe island: Basse-Terre Island on the west and Grande-Terre on the east, and the nearby smaller islands : Marie-Galante, La Desirade, Iles des Saintes (Terre-de-Haut island and Terre-de-Bas island).

Area – comparative

10 times the size of Washington, DC

Coastline

306 km (190 mi)

Maritime claims

• Exclusive economic zone: 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi)
• Territorial sea: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi)

Climate

Tropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity

Terrain

Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains; Grande-Terre is low limestone formation; most of the seven other islands are volcanic in origin

Elevation extremes

• Lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
• Highest point: La Grande Soufrière - 1,467 m (4,813 ft)

Natural resources

Cultivable land, beaches and climate that foster tourism

Land use

• Arable land: 14%
• Permanent crops: 4%
• Permanent pastures: 14%
• Forests and woodland: 39%
• Other: 29% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land

30 km² or 12 sq mi (1993 est.)

Natural hazards

Hurricanes (June to October); La Grande Soufrière is an active volcano

Environment – current issues

NA

See also

• Communes of the Guadeloupe département

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the CIA World Factbook.