| Geography and Climate |
Guadeloupe,located in the Caribbean, are group of islands in the eastern Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico. Area comparatively 10 times the size of Washington, DC. Total land boundary is 10.2 km, border country is Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 10.2 km.
Climate is subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity. Terrain in 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 extreme has the lowest point in Caribbean Sea 0 m and highest point in Soufriere 1,467 m. Natural resources are 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 sq km (1993 est.). Natural hazards are hurricanes (June to October); Soufriere is an active volcano.
Ref. Anonymous, 1999 |