The island of Guadeloupe is a French overseas department located in the Caribbean, in the Lesser Antilles, south of Montserrat and Antigua, and north of Dominica, the capital is the city of Basse-Terre. The department comprises, in addition to the main island of Guadeloupe (1,433 sq km), also the islands of Marie-Galante (158 sq. km) and La Desidare (21 sq. km) and the archipelago of Les Saintes (13 sq km). The main island of Guadeloupe is actually made up of two separate islands, Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre, separated by a stretch of sea off 200 metres, but linked by two bridges. Basse-Terre (838 sq km), the largest and most mountainous of the two, is of volcanic origin and its highest mountain, the Soufrière (1,467 metres) is a still active volcano, the second island, Grande-Terre (595 sq. km ), is mede of limestone and flat. The economy is based on agriculture (sugar cane, bananas, tropical fruits), fisheries and tourism. The main products are sugar, bananas, cocoa, coffee, vanilla and rum. |
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