Réunion is an island, as well as an overseas département (département d'outre-mer, or DOM) of France, located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about 200 km southwest of Mauritius. As the other DOMs, Réunion is also a région of France with much the same status as the parts of France situated on the European mainland. The départements (or departments) are administrative units of France, roughly analogous to British counties and are now grouped into 22 metropolitan and four overseas régions. ... Under the 1946 Constitution of the Fourth Republic, the French colonies of Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guiana in the Caribbean and Réunion in the Indian Ocean became départements doutre-mer (Overseas departments) or DOMs. ... A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer) (symbol: km) is a unit of length equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words khilia = thousand and metro = count/measure). ... France is divided into 26 régions, further subdivided into départements. ...

This is a list of country calling codes, also known as international direct dialing (IDD) codes, which are needed to access international telephone services. ... A top-level domain (TLD) is the last part of which Internet domain names consist of. ... .re is the Internet country code top-level domain ( ccTLD) for Réunion. ...

History

Arabian sailors used to call this island Dina Morgabin ("Western island").

The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. Events January 20 - Christian II becomes King of Denmark and Norway. ...

The island was then occupied by the French. In 1642, the King of France Louis XIII named it Île Bourbon. It was renamed Réunion during the French Revolution. Events January 4 - Charles I attempts to arrest five leading members of the Long Parliament, but they escape. ... Louis XIII (September 27, 1601 – May 14, 1643), called the Just (French: le Juste), was King of France from 1610 to 1643. ... The period of the French Revolution in the history of France covers the years between 1789 and 1799, in which democrats and republicans overthrew the absolute monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church was forced to undergo radical restructuring. ...

From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. 1881 drawing of the Suez Canal The Suez Canal (Arabic, Qanā al-Suways), west of the Sinai Peninsula, is a 163-km (118-mile) maritime canal in Egypt between Port Said (Būr Saīd) on the Mediterranean Sea and Suez (al-Suways) on the Red Sea. ... The Indies, on the display globe of the Field Museum, Chicago The Indies or East Indies (or East India) is a term used to describe lands of South and South-East Asia, occupying all of the former British India, the present Indian Union, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and...

Réunion became an overseas departement of France on March 19, 1946. The départements (or departments) are administrative units of France, roughly analogous to British counties and are now grouped into 22 metropolitan and four overseas régions. ... March 19 is the 78th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (79th in leap years). ... 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

Map of Réunion, converted directly from CIA World Factbook GIF. File links The following pages link to this file: Geography of Réunion Réunion Categories: CIA World Factbook images | Réunion ...

Politics

Main article: Politics of Réunion Country name: conventional long form: Department of Réunion conventional short form: Réunion local long form: none local short form: Île de la Réunion Data code: RE Dependency status: overseas département of France Government type: NA Capital: Saint-Denis Administrative divisions: none (overseas department of France); there...

Administratively, Réunion is divided into 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons. It is a French overseas department as well as a French region. An arrondissement is an administrative division in some francophone countries: France Paris Main article: Arrondissements of Paris The city of Paris, in France is divided into 20 arrondissements. ... A commune or comune is a system of social and economic organization which involves the common ownership of resources and/or shared obligations. ...

Geography

Main article: Geography of Réunion Location: Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar Geographic coordinates: 21°06′ S 55°36′ E Map references: World Area: total: 2,512 km² land: 2,502 km² water: 10 km² Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Rhode Island Land boundaries: 0 km Coastline: 207 km Maritime claims...

The island is 39 miles (63 kilometers) long, is 28 miles (45 kilometers) wide, and covers 970 square miles (2150 square kilometres). The island is similar to the big island of Hawaii because both are located above hot spots in the Earth's crust. A mile is any of several units of distance, or, in physics terminology, of length. ... A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer) (symbol: km) is a unit of length equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words khilia = thousand and metro = count/measure). ... This article is about the unit of measure. ... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... State nickname: The Aloha State Other U.S. States Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Governor Linda Lingle Official languages Hawaiian and English Area 28,337 km² (43rd)  - Land 16,649 km²  - Water 11,672 km² (41. ... In geology, a hotspot is a location on the Earths surface that has experienced active vulcanism for a long period of time. ...

Piton de la Fournaise, a shield volcano on the eastern end of Réunion Island, rises more than 8565 feet (2611 meters) above sea level and is sometimes called a sister to Hawaiian volcanoes because of the similarity of climate and volcanic nature, has erupted more than 100 times since 1640 and is under constant monitoring. It most recently erupted on August 13, 2004. La Fournaise is created by a hot spot volcano, which also created the Piton des Neiges and the islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues. Categories: Stub | Shield volcanoes | Hotspot volcanoes | Volcanoes of France | Volcanoes of the Indian Ocean ... Mauna Kea, a shield volcano, on the Island of Hawai‘i with a light dusting of snow. ... August 13 is the 225th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (226th in leap years), with 140 days remaining. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In geology, a hotspot is a location on the Earths surface that has experienced active vulcanism for a long period of time. ... A 3069m high volcano on the island of La Réunion, one of the volcanic islands in the Mascarene Archipelago in the southwestern Indian Ocean. ... Rodrigues (or Rodriguez) is an island in the Indian Ocean. ...

Piton des Neiges volcano, the highest point on the island at 10069 feet (3070 meters) above sea level, is northwest of Piton de la Fournaise volcano. Collapsed calderas and canyons are southwest of the mountain. Like Mauna Kea on the big island of Hawaii, Piton des Neiges is extinct. Despite its name, snow practically never falls on the summit. A 3069m high volcano on the island of La Réunion, one of the volcanic islands in the Mascarene Archipelago in the southwestern Indian Ocean. ... Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano in the Hawaiian Islands, one of five volcanic peaks that together form the Island of Hawaii. ... Image of Hawai‘i (island) taken by NASA. The Island of Hawai‘i is the largest of the Hawaiian Islands. ... This page is about the form of precipitation. ...

The slopes of both volcanoes are heavily forested. Cultivated land and cities like the capital city of Saint-Denis are concentrated on the surrounding coastal lowlands. Saint-Denis de la Réunion, (or just Saint-Denis or St-Denis for short) is the préfecture (administrative capital) of the French overseas département Réunion. ...

Réunion also has three cirques, which are similar to corries: the cirque of Salazie, the cirque of Cilaos and the cirque of Mafate. The latter is accessible only by foot or helicopter. Categories: Geographical term stubs | Geology | Glaciology ... Missing image A corrie on Ben Lui in Scotland In geography, a corrie, is a terrain feature created by glaciation in high mountains. ... Cilaos is a town and French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. ...

a map showing the location of Reunion and (the rest of) France, hopefully I picked the right dot on the blank map File links The following pages link to this file: Réunion Categories: GPL images ...

Economy

Main article: Economy of Réunion Economy - overview: The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture. ...

Sugar is the chief agricultural product and export. A sugar is a form of carbohydrate; the most commonly used sugar is a white crystalline solid, sucrose; used to alter the flavor and properties (mouthfeel, preservation, texture) of beverages and food. ...

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Réunion Population: 720,934 (July 2000 est. ...

Culture

Main article: Culture of Réunion

See also: Music of Réunion Réunion is a departement of France, and its population is mostly Francophone blacks, with some Indians and French minorities. ...

Reunionese culture is a blend of European, African, Indian and Pakistani and islander characteristics. The traditional language, Creole, derives from French, with many idiosyncracies. Creole is now taught in schools, but an official written transcription is not agreed upon yet. Food and music blend influences from Africa, India and Europe. This article is about the continent. ... World map showing location of Africa A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second_largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ... A creole is a language descended from a pidgin that has become the native language of a group of people. ...

Miscellaneous topics

• Communications in Réunion
• Communes of the Réunion département
• Military of Réunion
• Transportation in Réunion

Telephones - main lines in use: 236,500 (1997) Telephones - mobile cellular: 42,000 (1998) Telephone system: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis domestic: modern open wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian... The following is a list of the 24 communes of the Réunion département of France. ... Military branches: Regular French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 194,485 (2002 est. ... Railways: 0 km (Except a short touristic line, part of the old network. ...

External links

Réunion from space (NASA image). The three cirques, forming a kind of 3-leafed clover shape, are visible in the central north of the image. Piton de la Fournaise, in the south east, is covered by cloud

• Blog
  • LSZ Blog (http://lionel.suz.free.fr) - A flow of bytes coming from southern France

• Wikitravel Reunion web page (http://www.wikitravel.org/en/article/Reunion)
• Weather forecast (http://actualite.re/#meteo)
• General Council web site (http://www.cg974.fr/)
• Régional council web site (http://www.region-reunion.com)
• Official Tourism web site (http://www.la-reunion-tourisme.com/)
• Images of Reunion  (http://www.travel-images.com/reunion.html)
• Réunion Travel Guide and Directory (http://www.willgoto.com/categories.aspx?Destination=3&Langue=1)

From [1], in the public domain File links The following pages link to this file: Réunion ... From [1], in the public domain File links The following pages link to this file: Réunion ...

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Région Haute-Normandie Missing image Blason de la Haute-Normandie Détails Information Capital: Rouen Population  - Total  - Density 1 780 192 (1999) 145 /km² Area 12 317 km² Arrondissements 6 Cantons 112 Communes 1 420 President of the regional council Alain Le Vern Départements Categories: Regions of France... Région Pays-de-la-Loire Information Capital: Nantes Population  - Total  - Density 3 222 061 (1999) 100 /km² Area 32 082 km² Arrondissements 17 Cantons 203 Communes 1 502 President of the regional council Jacques Auxiette Départements Categories: Regions of France | Stub ... Categories: Stub | Regions of France ... Categories: Stub | Regions of France ... Capital Marseilles Area 31,400 km² Regional President Michel Vauzelle (PS) (since 1998) Population   - 2004 estimate   - 1999 census   - Density (Ranked 3rd) 4,666,000 4,506,151 149/km² (2004) Arrondissements 18 Cantons 237 Communes 963 Départements Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Alpes-Maritimes Bouches-du-Rhône Hautes-Alpes... 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