Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe is in the Caribbean Sea.

It is part of France. It has two big islands and some small ones. People use euros.

Guadeloupe is a group of islands in the eastern Caribbean Sea, part of the Lesser Antilles chain. Montserrat is to the northwest, Dominica to the south, and Martinique, also French, about 120 kilometers to the south.

Guadeloupe is a French overseas department and region. It elects members of the French parliament, uses the euro and follows French law. The seat of government is the town of Basse-Terre, while the biggest urban area grows around Pointe-à-Pitre, the main port.

Britannica describes Guadeloupe as an overseas département and overseas région of France, with a prefect for the French state and elected departmental and regional councils. Reforms approved by the French Parliament in 2000 transferred many responsibilities to the local assemblies. Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin, about 240 km to the northwest, were part of Guadeloupe until February 22, 2007, when they became separate overseas collectivities.

INSEE counted 384,160 residents on January 1, 2023, down an average of 0.3% a year since 2017 (about 6,100 people), because more people left than arrived and the natural balance weakened. Lamentin grew fastest; Les Abymes lost the most residents.

Basse-Terre town sits between green mountains and the sea.

Pointe-à-Pitre is the busy port. Little islands like Marie-Galante lie nearby.

The two main islands, Basse-Terre in the west and Grande-Terre in the east, are separated by a narrow channel called the Salée River. The town of Basse-Terre, the seat of government, is on the southwest coast; the photo, taken from its old fort, shows green mountains dropping to the blue sea.

Pointe-à-Pitre, on Grande-Terre, is the main port and business center. Smaller islands in the group include Marie-Galante to the southeast, La Désirade to the east and the Saintes (Terre-de-Haut and Terre-de-Bas) to the south.

Basse-Terre island accounts for more than half of Guadeloupe's land; Grande-Terre covers about 570 km² and is generally low, with only a few bluffs above 150 m. The Salée River, a narrow channel lined with extensive mangroves, separates them. Basse-Terre town is the seat of government, while the largest urban area centers on Pointe-à-Pitre, the chief port and economic hub.

The outer islands are Marie-Galante, La Désirade and the Saintes; smaller islands such as La Désirade have mainly dry forest with groves of latania (a fan palm) and cactus, unlike the dense forest of Basse-Terre's mountains. The hero photo looks from Fort Louis Delgrès at Basse-Terre toward the Caribbean Mountains (Monts Caraïbes) and the coast.

La Soufrière is a volcano on Basse-Terre.

Thick forest covers the mountains. Mangrove trees grow along the channel between the islands.

A chain of mountains runs down Basse-Terre island. Its highest point is La Soufrière, a volcano 1,467 meters high that erupted in 1797, 1837 and 1976–77 and now feeds hot springs. Rivers run from the mountains to the sea.

On the coast the temperature stays between about 25 and 28 °C, but near the volcano's summit it can drop to 4 °C. The mountains of Basse-Terre get more than 2,540 millimeters of rain a year, low-lying Grande-Terre only about 990. About two-fifths of Guadeloupe is forest, mostly on Basse-Terre.

Britannica describes a north–south mountain chain on Basse-Terre culminating in La Soufrière (1,467 m), which erupted in 1797, 1837 and 1976–77 and is now a source of hot and sulfur springs; Mount Sans Toucher (1,354 m) and Grande Découverte (1,263 m) are other summits. The Goyaves is the main river.

The tropical climate is tempered by northeast trade winds: coastal temperatures of 25–28 °C, down to 16 °C above about 580 m and 4 °C at the summit. The dry season, called 'Creole Lent', runs December to April and the rainy season July to September–October. Dense forest with mahogany and ironwood begins almost at sea level on windward slopes; Grande-Terre has been mostly cleared. Hurricanes occasionally strike, such as Hugo (1989) and Maria (2017).

The Guadeloupe woodpecker lives in the mountain forests.

Agoutis, rabbit-like rodents, live there too. Parrotfish swim in the warm sea.

In the highland forests of Basse-Terre live the Guadeloupe woodpecker, agoutis (short-eared, rabbit-like rodents) and mongooses. Antillean nighthawks, pigeons and monk parakeets fly here too, and ducks and teal visit the wetlands.

The warm sea around the islands is full of life: lobsters, crabs, octopuses, tarpons, snappers, parrotfish and many kinds of rays. Since colonial times the islands' animals have changed, partly because of hunting.

Britannica notes that Guadeloupe's fauna has changed since colonial times, partly because hunting reduced biodiversity. Raccoons are plentiful; agoutis, mongooses and the native Guadeloupe woodpecker inhabit the highlands of Basse-Terre, and other birds include Antillean nighthawks, pigeons, partridges and monk parakeets, with wild ducks, teal and other waterfowl in some areas.

The warm surrounding waters support lobsters, crabs, octopuses, tarpons, snooks, hogfishes, snappers, parrotfishes and many species of rays. Extensive mangrove swamps line the Salée River, and some flooded basins on the highest peaks are covered with grasses and sedges.

People in Guadeloupe speak French and Creole.

At Carnival there is Creole music and dancing. On holidays some people wear bright madras scarves.

French is the official language and the language of school, and a local Creole is widely spoken. Most people are Creoles, meaning people born in the islands, and most have mixed African and European ancestry.

Folk culture matters a lot. On holidays you may still see the madras et foulard, an outfit of a headdress and shawl made from scarves, and the pre-Lenten Carnival is full of Creole music and dances such as the beguine. Public services employ the most people, and tourism is important too; bananas and sugarcane are the main cash crops, though farming gives few jobs.

Britannica describes the population as principally Creoles (people born in the islands), most of mixed African and European ancestry; whites, a tiny minority, are on the smaller islands mostly descended from 17th-century Norman and Breton settlers. French is official and the medium of instruction, and a local creole is widely spoken. Most people live on the two largest islands, then Marie-Galante, the Saintes and La Désirade.

Britannica describes services, especially public administration, education and health, as the largest employer and the biggest part of GDP, with tourism also important, bananas and sugarcane the main cash crops, and manufacturing and farming giving few jobs. Carnival features Creole music and folk dances such as the beguine, and the madras et foulard is still worn on holidays. Pointe-à-Pitre has university schools of humanities, law and economics, medicine and science.