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La Désirade
 
 
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La Désirade is an island in the French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 overseas région and département of Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe is an island group or archipelago located in the eastern Caribbean Sea at , with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres . It is an overseas department of France....
, in the Lesser Antilles
Lesser Antilles

The Lesser Antilles, also known as the Caribbees, are part of the Antilles, which together with the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Greater Antilles form the West Indies....
.

It has a land area of 20.64 km² (7,97 sq. miles) and a population of 1,595 in 2006 (down from 1,682 in 1974), with a population density of 77 inh.






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Guadeloupe Map
La Désirade is an island in the French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 overseas région and département of Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe is an island group or archipelago located in the eastern Caribbean Sea at , with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres . It is an overseas department of France....
, in the Lesser Antilles
Lesser Antilles

The Lesser Antilles, also known as the Caribbees, are part of the Antilles, which together with the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Greater Antilles form the West Indies....
.

It has a land area of 20.64 km² (7,97 sq. miles) and a population of 1,595 in 2006 (down from 1,682 in 1974), with a population density of 77 inh. per km² (200 inh. per sq. mile) in 2006. Most residents live in the settlement of Beauséjour.

Geography

The island is located about 8 km off the coast of Grande-Terre
Grande-Terre

The main part of Guadeloupe consists of two islands separated by a salt river and whose combined shape resembles a butterfly. The western island is Basse-Terre Island and the eastern island is Grande-Terre....
, the eastern half of the island of Guadeloupe. Its coordinates are . La Désirade is 11 km long and 2 km wide; the interior of the island forms a central plateau
Plateau

In geology and earth science, a plateau, also called a high plateau or tableland, is an area of highland , usually consisting of relatively flat terrain....
.

Administration

Administratively speaking, the island of La Désirade is part of the commune
Communes of France

The commune is the lowest level of administrative divisions in the France. The French word commune appeared in the 12th century, from Medieval Latin Medieval commune, meaning a small gathering of people sharing a common life, from Latin communis, things held in common....
 (municipality) of La Désirade
La Désirade (commune)

La D?sirade is a Communes of France in the France overseas region and Overseas department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. The commune of La D?sirade is made up of the island of La D?sirade and the uninhabited Petite Terre Islands located about 10 km to the south of the island of La D?sirade....
 which also includes the uninhabited Petite Terre Islands
Petite Terre Islands

Petite Terre Islands are two small uninhabited islands located about 10 km to the south-east of the island of Grande-Terre in the archipelago of Guadeloupe, itself in the Lesser Antilles....
.

History

La Désirade was discovered in 1493 by Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was a Republic of Genoa navigator, colonialist and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean?funded by Queen Isabella of Spain?led to general European awareness of the America in the Western Hemisphere....
 on his second voyage, and was the site of a leper colony
Leper colony

A leper colony, leprosarium, or lazar house is a place to quarantine leprosy people....
 until 1958.

External links

  • Everything you should know about the major public health crisis that occurred in La Désirade.