Grande-Terre
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![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Guadeloupe_map.png/220px-Guadeloupe_map.png)
Grande-Terre Island (
Despite its name, Grande-Terre (literally "Large Land" in French) is smaller than Basse-Terre Island. It was called like that, in contrast with the much smaller Petite Terre Islands ("Small Land" Islands), two very small islands located about 10 km south-east of the Grande-Terre (see map to the left).
Grande-Terre's indented coastline is surrounded by coral reefs and the island itself is a limestone plateau. Its surface is a series of rolling hills, white sand beaches and cliffs. The island's beaches consist of both white and black sands, as well as beaches of golden sand. Of the two islands, Grande-Terre is home to the majority of Guadeloupe's farmlands and tourist resorts.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Grande_terre.jpg/220px-Grande_terre.jpg)
The island has a land area of 586.68 km2.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Pointe_de_la_Grande_Vigie_-_Guadeloupe.jpg/600px-Pointe_de_la_Grande_Vigie_-_Guadeloupe.jpg)
History
Historically, Grande-Terre Island was called "cibuqueira", ("Gum tree island", in the Caribbean language) and the island of Basse-Terre, "Caloucaera" (Karukera), a word meaning "the island of beautiful waters" in the Caribbean language.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
16°19′03″N 61°25′43″W / 16.31750°N 61.42861°W
References
- ^ "Islands of Guadeloupe (France)". archive.wikiwix.com. Retrieved 2022-06-14.