Cayenne
Cayenne is a commune, the capital (prefecture) of the French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France that is in northern South America. The city is on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne river on the Atlantic coast.
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Cayenne | |
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| 2012 aerial view of Cayenne | |
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| Location of the commune (in red) within French Guiana | |
| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Overseas region and department | French Guiana |
| Arrondissement | Cayenne |
| Intercommunality | Centre Littoral |
| Mayor | Sandra Trochimara (2020-) |
| Statistics | |
| Land area1 | 23.60 km2 (9.11 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 55,198 (Jan. 2012[1]) |
| - Density | 2,339/km2 (6,060/sq mi) |
| Urban area | 206.9 km2 (79.9 sq mi) (2010) |
| - Population | 106,358 (Jan. 2012[1][2]) |
| Metro area | 5,087 km2 (1,964 sq mi) (2010) |
| - Population | 121,308 (Jan. 2012[1][3]) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 97302/ 97300 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
History
The first European settlement in the region was founded on the Cayenne island in 1604 by French people sent by Henry IV but the settlement was destroyed by Portuguese to enforce the Treaty of Tordesillas
French colonists came back in 1643 and founded Cayenne, but they were forced to leave once more following Amerindian attacks. In 1664, France finally succeeded at establishing a permanent settlement at Cayenne. Over the next decade the colony changed hands between the French, Dutch, and English, before being restored to France. It was captured by an Anglo-Portuguese force at the invasion of Cayenne in 1809 and administered from Brazil until 1814, when it was returned to French control. It was used as a French penal colony from 1854 to 1938.
Geography
Cayenne is a city along the Atlantic coast on the sides of a common estuary of the Cayenne and Montsinéry rivers. It has an area of 23.60 km2 (9.11 sq mi); at the city hall, the altitude is 53 m (174 ft).[4]
The commune is at 268 km (167 mi) from Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni and 64 km (40 mi) from Kourou. The distances to other cities out of French Guiana are:
- Paris, the national capital, la capitale nationale, 7,100 km (4,412 mi).
- Fort-de-France, capital of Martinique, 1,500 km (932 mi).
- Paramaribo, capital of Surinam, 342 km (213 mi) to the northwest.
- Macapá, capital of Amapá (Brazil), 777 km (483 mi).
The city is surrounded by:
Climate
Cayenne has an equatorial climate (Köppen climate classification: Af) bordering on a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification: Am) with a dry season and a heavy monsoon the rest of year and no cold season.
The average temperature for the year in Cayenne is 26.2 °C (79.2 °F). The warmest month, on average, is September with an average temperature of 27.2 °C (81.0 °F). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 26.1 °C (79.0 °F).
The average amount of precipitation for the year in Cayenne is 3,205.5 mm (126.2 in). The month with the most precipitation on average is May with 513.1 mm (20.2 in) of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is September with an average of 43.2 mm (1.7 in). There is an average of 201.0 days of precipitation, with the most precipitation occurring in May with 27.0 days and the least precipitation occurring in September with 5.0 days.[5]
| Climate data for Cayenne, French Guiana, France | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 27 (81) |
28 (82) |
28 (82) |
28 (82) |
28 (82) |
28 (82) |
29 (84) |
30 (86) |
31 (88) |
30 (86) |
30 (86) |
28 (82) |
28.8 (83.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 26 (79) |
26 (79) |
26 (79) |
26 (79) |
26 (79) |
26 (79) |
26 (79) |
26 (79) |
27 (81) |
27 (81) |
26 (79) |
26 (79) |
26.2 (79.1) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 23 (73) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
23 (73) |
22.6 (72.7) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 380 (14.96) |
320 (12.6) |
380 (14.96) |
380 (14.96) |
510 (20.08) |
390 (15.35) |
200 (7.87) |
100 (3.94) |
40 (1.57) |
50 (1.97) |
120 (4.72) |
290 (11.42) |
3,160 (124.41) |
| Source: Weatherbase.com [1] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
The inhabitants of Cayenne are known, in French, as Cayennais (women: Cayennaises).[6]
The city of Cayenne has a population, in 2014, of 55,817;[7] its population density is of 2,365 inhabitants/km2.
Evolution of the population in Cayenne
Sister cities
Cayenne is twinned with:
Sites of interest
Place des Palmistes
Botanical Garden
Cayenne cathedral
Gallery
Cayenne Media
Pedestrian street not far from Fort Cépérou.
The commune of Cayenne with its former cantons in the early 2010s. (note: the cantons were abolished in 2015)
- MairiedeCayenne
Direction départementale de l'Agriculture et de la Forêt (Office of Departmental Service for Forests and Agriculture)
Trompe-l'œil mural at the Carrefour Suzini
Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur de Cayenne after its renovation in 2005.
Maison Thémire, historic and iconic building of the capital. Today it is a bar-restaurant-hotel.
Place des palmistes in Cayenne, French Guiana.
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Botanical garden of Cayenne, with a statue of Gaston Monnerville statue at its center.
Related pages
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 INSEE. "Historique des populations par commune depuis 1961". Retrieved 2014-02-01.
- ↑ INSEE. "Base des unités urbaines 2012". Retrieved 2014-02-01.
- ↑ INSEE. "Base communale des aires urbaines 2012". Retrieved 2014-02-01.
- ↑ "Cayenne". Map-France.com. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
- ↑ "Cayenne, France - Köppen Climate Classification". Weatherbase. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
- ↑ "Guyane" (in français). habitants.fr. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
- ↑ "Régions, départements, arrondissements, cantons et communes" (PDF). Populations légales 2014 (in français). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
Other websites
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 47: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).. |
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Wikivoyage has a travel guide about: Cayenne |
- Ville de Cayenne official website (in French)
- Collectivité territorial de Guyane website (in French)
- Prefecture website (in French)
- Guyane-Amazonie Tourism[dead link]