|
 Martinique
(pop: 399,000) is 65 kilometers long and 31
kilometers wide with mountains in the north and south and
a low-lying ‘waist’ where most people live. The
coastline is irregular in the southern half, with
peninsulas and promontories protecting islets and sandy
bays. Throughout the island the scenery is dramatic and
very beautiful, with lush rainforest coating the slopes of
the mountains and swathes of sugar cane grown on the
plain. It lies at 14°40 north and 61° west and belongs
to the Lesser Antilles. The Caribbean Sea is to the west,
the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Martinique’s neighboring
islands are Dominica to the north and St Lucia to the
south.
Martinique
is volcanic in origin and one active volcano still exists,
Montagne Pelée (1,397 meters), situated to the northwest,
which had its last major eruption in 1902. The rest of the
island is also very mountainous; the Pitons de Carbet
(maximum 1,196 meters) are in the center of the island and
Montagne du Vauclin (504 meters) is in the south. Small
hills or mornes link these mountains and there is a
central plain, Le Lamentin, where sugar cane is planted.
An extensive tropical rainforest covers parts of the north
of the island, as well as pineapple and banana
plantations. The coastline is varied: steep cliffs and
volcanic, black and gray sand coves in the north and on
the rugged Atlantic coast, and calmer seas with large
white or gold sand beaches in the south and on the
Caribbean coast. The Baie de Fort-de-France bites into the
western coastline creating a sheltered bay where there are
mangroves and wetlands. The Atlantic coast south of the
Caravelle peninsula is good for windsurfing and scuba
diving, due to the shelter afforded by headlands and
islands for its shallow bays. The population of the island
is over 400,000 of which half live in Fort-de-France, the
capital, and neighboring communes, including Schoelcher to
the west and the industrial zones to the east. The
industrial town of Le Lamentin, slightly inland and nar
the international airport, is the second largest town. The
rest of Martinique is fairly evenly scattered with the
small towns or communes.
Click here to go to Martinique web site. |
