Guadeloupe: Background & Geography

Introduction Guadeloupe
Background:
 Guadeloupe has been a French possession since 1635. The island of Saint Martin is shared with the Netherlands; its southern portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles and its northern portion is named Saint-Martin and is part of Guadeloupe
Geography Guadeloupe
Location:
 Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Puerto Rico
Geographic coordinates:
 16 15 N, 61 35 W
Map references:
 Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
 total: 1,780 sq km
note: Guadeloupe is an archipelago of nine inhabited islands, including Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Desirade, Iles des Saintes (2), Saint-Barthelemy, Iles de la Petite Terre, and Saint-Martin (French part of the island of Saint Martin)
water: 74 sq km
land: 1,706 sq km
Area - comparative:
 10 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
 total: 10.2 km
border countries: Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 10.2 km
Coastline:
 306 km
Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
 territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Climate:
 subtropical 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: Soufriere 1,484 m
Natural resources:
 cultivable land, beaches and climate that foster tourism
Land use:
 arable land: 10.65%
permanent crops: 4.14%
other: 85.21% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
 20 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
 hurricanes (June to October); Soufriere de Guadeloupe is an active volcano
Environment - current issues:
 NA
Geography - note:
 a narrow channel, the Riviere Salee, divides Guadeloupe proper into two islands: the larger, western Basse-Terre and the smaller, eastern Grande-Terre

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