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Basse-Terre |
|
| 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. | |
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).
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See Basse-Terre Island for the origin of the name Basse-Terre.
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.
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.
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] | |||||||||||||
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]
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Basse-Terre Basse-Terre] at Wikimedia Commons
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