Geography
La Grande Soufrière, the tallest mountain in the Lesser Antilles, is located on the island. It rises to 1,467 m (4,813 ft) high. It is an active volcano. The surrounding area of Basse-Terre has a rough volcanic relief fertile land. The surrounding areas of Basse-Terre consists of forest, grassland and sugar, coffee, banana and cocoa plantations. The island has a land area of 847.82 km² (327.35 sq mi).
The eastern coast of Basse-Terre Island, known as the Windward Coast (in French: Côte-au-vent), is exposed to the trade winds and receives a lot of rain, whereas the western coast of the island, known as the Leeward Coast (in French Côte-sous-le-vent) is protected from the winds by the Soufrière volcano and is thus much drier.
Read more about this topic: Basse-Terre Island
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