Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe, Antillean Creole: Gwadloup) is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres (629 sq. mi) and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe is also one of the 27 regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic.

As part of France, Guadeloupe is part of the European Union; hence, as for most EU countries, its currency is the euro. However, Guadeloupe is not part of the Schengen Area. The prefecture and the capital of Guadeloupe is Basse-Terre. Christopher Columbus named the island Santa María de Guadalupe in 1493 after the Virgin Mary, venerated in the Spanish town of Guadalupe, in Extremadura.

Geography of Guadeloupe

Located as the southernmost of the Leeward Islands in the eastern Caribbean Sea, Guadeloupe comprises five main islands: Basse-Terre Island, Grande-Terre (separated from Basse-Terre by a narrow sea channel called Salt River) with the adjacent islands of La Désirade, Les Saintes and Marie-Galante.

Western Basse-Terre has a rough volcanic relief while eastern Grande-Terre features rolling hills and flat plains.

Further to the north, Saint-Barthélemy and the northern French part of Saint Martin once came under the jurisdiction of Guadeloupe but on 7 December 2003, both of these areas voted to become an overseas territorial collectivity, a decision which took effect on 22 February 2007.

[edit]Hurricanes

The island 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, Category 3 Hurricane Inez caused very extensive damage mostly in Grande-Terre and north Basse-Terre Island and killed 33 people. 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 21 September 1998, Hurricane Georges pounded the islands causing moderate damage and destroying 90% of the banana crop.