La R é union is a volcanic island in the Masklin Islands of the western Indian Ocean. One of France's overseas provinces, namely the Reunion department. Reunion Island covers an area of 2512 square kilometers and has a coastline of 207 kilometers.
The position is 20.9188 ° S 55.475063 ° E. About 190 kilometers to the east are the Mauritius Islands, and 650 kilometers to the west are Madagascar, the largest island in Africa, sports fitness .
geographical environment
geographical position
The island is 63 kilometers (39 miles) long and 45 kilometers (28 miles) wide, covering an area of 2512 square kilometers (970 square miles). It is located above the hot spots in the Earth's crust, with many infrastructure and characteristic tourist attractions that utilize the heat of the Earth's crust. Furnais volcano is located in the eastern part of the island, with an altitude of 2632 meters. After 1640, the volcano erupted more than 100 times. The last volcanic eruption occurred on September 11, 2016. Because its volcanic characteristics and weather are similar to those of the Hawaiian volcano, It is also known as the "sisters of the Hawaiian volcano". Reunion's seaside is very beautiful, and the white sand beach attracts many tourists. Snorkeling is one of the most popular activities. Reunion's climate is tropical. It is particularly cool and dry from May to November, especially hot from December to April, and it often rains. Rainfall varies from region to region, and it rains more in the east of the island than in the west.
Climatic characteristics
Except for narrow plains along the coast, all of them belong to mountains and plateaus. The peak on the island is about 3019 meters, which is the GrosMorne volcanic peak (adjacent to the extinct Neiri volcano, with an elevation of 3069 meters). The coastal area has a tropical rainforest climate, which is humid and hot all year round; The internal mountainous area has a high mountain climate, mild and cool. The average temperature in the hottest month is 26 ℃, and the coldest month is 20 ℃. May to November is the dry season, and November to April of the following year is the rainy season.
Some historians believe that Arabs may have settled on Reunion Island during the Middle Ages. Reunion Island was discovered by the Portuguese in 1513, ruled by France in 1649, and established a navigation station on the island. It was occupied by Britain in 1810, and returned to France by Britain in 1815. It was named Reunion Island in 1848. In 1946, France declared Reunion Island as an overseas province and one of France's overseas provinces. In addition to being part of the country's overseas territories, it is ranked in the same administrative level as the mainland region of France.
In addition to Reunion Island, the Reunion Overseas Province also governs five islands: New Juan Island, Europa Island, Indian Reef, Glorius Islands, and Tromeland Island. The sovereignty of the first four islands is disputed with Madagascar, and the last island is disputed with Mauritius.
The population density on the island is very high. In addition to French white people, there are also Chinese (approximately 30000 people), Indians, and black people. However, due to France's ban on recording racial distribution in the census, there is no specific statistics on the population of each ethnic group. French is the official language, and a few people are proficient in English. 94% of people believe in Catholicism. The capital (Pr é city) is Saint Denis on the north coast of the island.
The traditional dishes of Reunion Island include rice, beans, meat or fish, and chili peppers. Supplemented with spices such as zedoary, lemon grass, sour beans, curry, etc. Due to the diverse population composition, the cuisine is quite diverse. For example, using curry is influenced by Indian immigrants, stir fried noodles is influenced by Chinese immigrants, and using cassava or corn to make cakes is influenced by African immigrants. Due to the fact that most of the food on Reunion Island is imported from France, there are currently many dishes that are similar to those in France.
The economy is mainly focused on agriculture, fishing, and tourism. In agriculture, economic crops such as sugarcane, vanilla, and geranium are mainly planted to produce sucrose and geranium essential oil; The latter is the origin of many legal essential oils and perfume. The degree of industrialization is relatively low, and sugar production is the main industry. Economic development mainly relies on French aid. The currency is in euros.
Reunion Island is known as the Little Europe and is a vacation destination. Reunion Island is most famous for its volcanoes, and there are still active volcanoes such as Laves that often erupt and spew magma for several months, making it an important tourist attraction.
Reunion Island has two seasons of winter and summer, with May to November being the winter season, cool and rainy, and December to April of the following year being the summer season, hot and humid.
The coastal area has a tropical rainforest climate, which is humid and hot all year round; The mainland has a mountainous climate, mild and cool.
The average temperature in the hottest month is 26 ℃, and the coldest month is 20 ℃. From May to November every year, it is cool and dry, and from November to April of the following year, it is hot and rainy. On March 9, 1998, the Piton de la Fournaise volcano on the island erupted greatly. As soon as summer comes, the humid climate in the Indian Ocean keeps coming. In addition, there is an active volcano on the island with an altitude of 3069 meters. The humid air flow meets high mountains, and the upward movement of the air flow is extremely intense, resulting in a rare heavy rainstorm. Most of them are plateau and mountainous areas, with narrow plains along the coast. The plateau runs diagonally through the central part in the northeast and southwest directions, with volcanic mountains on both sides. The highest peak, the daily peak, has an elevation of 3071 meters and is an extinct volcano. The plain climate is humid and hot; The mountainous area is mild and cool, with an annual precipitation of 2000-3000 millimeters on the east slope and below 1000 millimeters on the west slope. There are many rainstorm areas in the world. From March 11 to 19, 1952, the rainstorm in 8 days and nights was 4130mm; On February 28, 1964, the rainstorm reached 1087 mm in 9 hours.
The region with the highest daily precipitation in the world, Selous on Reunion Island, had a daily rainfall of 1870 millimeters from March 15-16, 1952.
