Reunion Geography Profile 2006

Location

Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar

Geographic coordinates

21 06 S, 55 36 E

Map references

World

Area

total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km
water: 10 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Rhode Island

Land boundaries

0 km

Coastline

207 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate

tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April)

Terrain

mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m

Natural resources

fish, arable land, hydropower

Land use

arable land: 13.94%
permanent crops: 1.59%
other: 84.47% (2005)

Irrigated land

120 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards

periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano

Environment - current issues

NA

Geography - note

this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean