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Guadeloupe Travel Guide &
Location Information
 Guadeloupe
is an archipelago located in the
eastern Caribbean Sea at 16°15′N
61°35′W, with a total area of 1,780
square kilometres (687 sq. mi).
Guadeloupe comprises five
islands: Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre
(separated from Basse-Terre by a
narrow sea channel called salt
river) with the adjacent islands of
La Désirade, Les Saintes and Marie-Galante.
Basse-Terre has a rough volcanic
relief whilst Grande-Terre features
rolling hills and flat plains.
Further to the north, Saint-Barthélemy
and the French part of Saint Martin
come under the jurisdiction of
Guadeloupe.
On December 7, 2003, both of these
areas voted to become an overseas
territorial collectivity.
Guadeloupe's culture is probably
best known for the islanders'
literary achievements. Particularly
the poetry of Saint-John Perse, the
pseudonym used by Alexis Leger.
Perse won the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1960 "for the soaring
flight and the evocative imagery of
his poetry which in a visionary
fashion reflects the conditions of
our time."
Also culturally important are the
arts, particularly painting. Music
and dance are also popular, and the
mix of African and French cultures
created a few important forms on the
island. Islanders enjoy many local
dance styles including the quadrille
"au commandement", zouk, zouk-love,
and toumbélé. Music includes la
biguine and gwo ka la base.
The economy of Guadeloupe depends
on tourism, agriculture, light
industry, and services. It also
depends on France for large
subsidies and imports.
Tourism is a key industry, with most
tourists visiting from the United
States. An increasingly large number
of cruise ships visit the islands.
The traditional sugarcane crop is
slowly being replaced by other
crops, such as bananas (which now
supply about 50% of export
earnings), eggplant, guinnep,
sapotilla, eggplant and flowers.
Other vegetables and root crops are
cultivated for local consumption,
although Guadeloupe is still
dependent on imported food, mainly
from France.
Light industry features sugar and
rum production. Most manufactured
goods and fuel are imported.
Unemployment is especially high
among the young. Hurricanes
periodically devastate the economy.
The country code top-level domain (ccTLD)
for Guadeloupe is ".gp".
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