Basse-Terre Island (French: île de Basse-Terre or île de la Basse-Terre) is the name of the western-half of Guadeloupe proper, in the Lesser Antilles. It is separated from the other half of Guadeloupe proper, Grande-Terre, by a narrow sea channel called the Rivière Salée (in English Salt River).
Basse-Terre Island has a land area of 847.82 km² (327.35 sq. miles). At the 2006 census the population of Basse-Terre Island was 186,661 inhabitants living in 16 communes (municipalities). The population density was 220 inhabitants per km² (570 inh. per sq. miles). The largest city on Basse-Terre Island is the city of Basse-Terre which had 37,455 inhabitants in its urban area at the 2006 census. The city of Basse-Terre is the prefecture (capital) of Guadeloupe.
Read more about Basse-Terre Island: Name, Geography, Towns, Sights
Famous quotes containing the word island:
“An island always pleases my imagination, even the smallest, as a small continent and integral portion of the globe. I have a fancy for building my hut on one. Even a bare, grassy isle, which I can see entirely over at a glance, has some undefined and mysterious charm for me.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)