Basse-Terre
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2010) |
 |
This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the French Wikipedia. (January 2009) Click [show] on the right for instructions.
|
|
Basse-Terre |
|
.JPG) |
|
| Clock tower in the marketplace | |
 |
|
| Location of the commune (in red) within Guadeloupe | |
| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Overseas region and department | Guadeloupe |
| Arrondissement | Basse-Terre |
| Canton | Basse-Terre (1st, and 2nd) |
| Intercommunality | Sud Basse-Terre |
| Mayor | Lucette Michaux-Chevry (2008–2014) |
| Statistics | |
| Land area1 | 5.78 km2 (2.23 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 12,748 (2007) |
| - Density | 2,206 /km2 (5,710 /sq mi) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 97105/ 97100 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Coordinates: 15°59′45″N 61°43′45″W / 15.9958°N 61.7292°W
Basse-Terre is the prefecture (Capital city) of Guadeloupe, an overseas region and department of France located in the Lesser Antilles.[1] The city of Basse-Terre is located on Basse-Terre Island, the western-half of Guadeloupe.
Although it is the administrative capital of Guadeloupe, Basse-Terre is only the second largest city in Guadeloupe behind Pointe-à-Pitre with its urban area, with 44,864 inhabitants in 1999 (12,400 of whom lived in the city of Basse-Terre proper).
Contents |
[edit] Name
See Basse-Terre Island for the origin of the name Basse-Terre.
[edit] History
The city was founded in 1643, in the mountainous section of Basse-Terre, one of the two islands which compose Guadeloupe. It was destroyed many times as a consequence of the Anglo-French wars. Today the town is quiet due to the eruption of La Grande Soufriere in 1976, with its French provincial atmosphere and colourful port life.
[edit] Sights
In town is the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul, a 19th century building which has a notable grey stone highlighted by white statues; many other colonial buildings; La place du Champ d'Arbaud, the main square and Le Jardin Pichon, the park adjoining to the south & the Zoological and Botanical Park lies on a 1,500-foot (460 m) hilltop garden on the banks of La Rivière-aux-Herbes. This is a reserve of the plants and animals of Guadeloupe.
[edit] Climate
Basse-Terre lies at a transitional point between a tropical rainforest climate and a tropical monsoon climate. While Basse-Terre does feature a drier stretch from January through March, the town does not quite have a dry season month. The town’s driest month (February) sees on average roughly 60 mm of precipitation. A monthly precipitation average below 60 mm is considered dry season month. As is the norm with cities with these two climate types, Basse-Terre features relatively consistent temperatures throughout the year.
| Climate data for Basse-Terre | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 28 (82) |
28 (82) |
28 (82) |
29 (84) |
30 (86) |
31 (88) |
31 (88) |
31 (88) |
31 (88) |
30 (86) |
29 (84) |
28 (82) |
30 (86) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 24 (75) |
24 (75) |
25 (77) |
26 (79) |
27 (81) |
27 (81) |
27 (81) |
27 (81) |
27 (81) |
27 (81) |
26 (79) |
25 (77) |
26 (79) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 20 (68) |
20 (68) |
21 (70) |
22 (72) |
23 (73) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
22 (72) |
21 (70) |
22 (72) |
| Precipitation cm (inches) | 8 (3.1) |
6 (2.4) |
7 (2.8) |
11 (4.3) |
15 (5.9) |
12 (4.7) |
16 (6.3) |
19 (7.5) |
23 (9.1) |
22 (8.7) |
22 (8.7) |
14 (5.5) |
178 (70.1) |
| Source: Weatherbase[2] | |||||||||||||
[edit] Sport
Three association football teams based in Basse-Terre compete in the Guadeloupe Division d'Honneur, the country's top division. These teams are Racing Club de Basse-Terre, La Gauloise de Basse-Terre and Etoile du Carmel. Racing Club have won three league titles, most recently in 2004. [3] Another Basse-Terre-based club, Cygne Noir, won the league in 1963, but they no longer compete in the top-flight.
Sports stadiums in the capital include Stade St. Claude, a stadium with a capacity of 3,000 that is currently used for association football by the Guadeloupe football team and clubs Racing Club de Basse-Terre and La Gauloise de Basse-Terre as well as being a multi-use stadium. [4]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ INSEE
- ^ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Basse-Terre". http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weatherall.php3?s=79887&refer=&units=metric.
- ^ http://www.rsssf.com/tablesg/guadchamp.html "Guadeloupe - List of Champions" Retrieved 16 August 2011
- ^ http://www.worldstadiums.com/middle_america/countries/guadeloupe.shtml "World Stadiums - Guadeloupe" Retrieved 16 August 2011
[edit] External links
Media related to Basse-Terre at Wikimedia Commons
|
|||||||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||||||
