La Possession (French pronunciation: [la pɔsesjɔ̃]) is a commune in the French overseas department of Réunion. It is located in the northwestern part of the island of Réunion, between the capital of Saint-Denis and the commune of Le Port.
La Possession | |
|---|---|
 An aerial view over La Possession and Le Port | |
 Coat of arms | |
 | |
Location of La Possession  | |
| Coordinates: 20°55′35″S 55°20′09″E / 20.9264°S 55.3358°E | |
| Country | France |
| Overseas region and department | Réunion |
| Arrondissement | Saint-Paul |
| Canton | La Possession |
| Intercommunality | Territoire de la Côte Ouest |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Vanessa Miranville[1] |
Area 1 | 118.35 km2 (45.70 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[2] | 35,245 |
| • Density | 300/km2 (770/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+04:00 |
| INSEE/Postal code | 97408 /97419 |
| Elevation | 0–2,940 m (0–9,646 ft) (avg. 17 m or 56 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
To the territory of this commune belongs the major part of the Cirque of Mafate, a caldera of the dormant Piton des Neiges volcano. It is part of the Réunion National Park.
History
editThe territory of the commune of La Possession belonged to the commune of Saint-Paul until 1895.
In 1675 the first settlements were led by Jean Marquet (a creek was named for him). In 1699 sugar cane concessions were attributed to Texer de Mota, a Portuguese from India.
From 1730-1767 construction of Chemin Crémont created the first paved walkway to the capital Saint-Denis. In 1797 the Rivière des Galets concession was attributed to Dr Rivière.
In 1833 a chapel was constructed, later replaced by a church. 1834: Still belonging to the commune of Saint-Paul, Réunion, the territory of the futur commune becomes special section. From 1849–1854 La route de la Montagne (Mountain road) was built; the first reliable road connection to Saint-Denis.
In 1860 the lazaret of La Grande Chaloupe was constructed, which became the quarantine station of Réunion. In 1882 the railway Saint-Denis - Saint-Pierre and the harbour of Le Port were constructed. In 1886 the first steamers enter the new Pointe des Galets harbour. 1890 saw the creation of the La Possession commune. In 1895 part of the territory at the Pointe des Galets was split off to become the commune of Le Port.
In 1976 the new coastal highway to Saint-Denis was opened along with the closure of the railway Saint-Denis - Le Port.
Demographics
editGraphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 6,783 | — |
| 1967 | 7,626 | +1.97% |
| 1974 | 10,112 | +4.11% |
| 1982 | 11,002 | +1.06% |
| 1990 | 15,614 | +4.47% |
| 1999 | 21,904 | +3.83% |
| 2007 | 27,175 | +2.73% |
| 2012 | 30,653 | +2.44% |
| 2017 | 33,020 | +1.50% |
| Source: SPLAF[3] and INSEE (1967-2017)[4] | ||
Geography
editThis section possibly contains original research. (April 2022) |
Most of the caldera of Mafate belongs to the commune. Hiking trails connect Dos d'Âne via the river valley of Rivière des Galets to Grand Place and other îlets. Other trails connect La Possession to Saint-Denis, via La Grande Chaloupe.
At La Grande Chaloupe the partly restored lazaretto and the former train station can be visited. They have exhibitions about the history of the Réunion railroad, the lazaretto and indentured servitude in Réunion.
Climate
editLa Possession has a subtropical highland climate (Köppen climate classification Cwb). The average annual temperature in La Possession is 18.1 °C (64.6 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,376.0 mm (54.17 in) with February as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in February, at around 21.6 °C (70.9 °F), and lowest in July, at around 14.7 °C (58.5 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in La Possession was 31.4 °C (88.5 °F) on 2 March 2010; the coldest temperature ever recorded was 4.5 °C (40.1 °F) on 29 July 1986.
| Climate data for La Possession (Dos d'Ane, altitude 915m, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1966–2014) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 30.2 (86.4) |
30.8 (87.4) |
31.4 (88.5) |
29.5 (85.1) |
28.5 (83.3) |
26.9 (80.4) |
25.4 (77.7) |
25.6 (78.1) |
26.5 (79.7) |
28.6 (83.5) |
30.2 (86.4) |
31.1 (88.0) |
31.4 (88.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 25.7 (78.3) |
25.8 (78.4) |
25.4 (77.7) |
24.3 (75.7) |
22.9 (73.2) |
21.0 (69.8) |
19.8 (67.6) |
20.1 (68.2) |
20.5 (68.9) |
21.6 (70.9) |
23.1 (73.6) |
24.7 (76.5) |
22.9 (73.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 21.3 (70.3) |
21.6 (70.9) |
20.9 (69.6) |
19.7 (67.5) |
18.1 (64.6) |
15.9 (60.6) |
14.7 (58.5) |
15.0 (59.0) |
15.4 (59.7) |
16.6 (61.9) |
18.1 (64.6) |
20.0 (68.0) |
18.1 (64.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 16.9 (62.4) |
17.3 (63.1) |
16.5 (61.7) |
15.0 (59.0) |
13.3 (55.9) |
10.9 (51.6) |
9.7 (49.5) |
9.9 (49.8) |
10.4 (50.7) |
11.5 (52.7) |
13.1 (55.6) |
15.2 (59.4) |
13.3 (55.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 11.5 (52.7) |
12.0 (53.6) |
11.0 (51.8) |
8.9 (48.0) |
8.0 (46.4) |
5.4 (41.7) |
4.5 (40.1) |
6.0 (42.8) |
5.7 (42.3) |
6.8 (44.2) |
7.2 (45.0) |
10.5 (50.9) |
4.5 (40.1) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 343.4 (13.52) |
343.5 (13.52) |
241.1 (9.49) |
80.6 (3.17) |
48.5 (1.91) |
28.5 (1.12) |
14.4 (0.57) |
20.8 (0.82) |
22.6 (0.89) |
27.0 (1.06) |
52.2 (2.06) |
153.4 (6.04) |
1,376 (54.17) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 14.2 | 13.5 | 11.6 | 8.3 | 6.2 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 6.6 | 10.2 | 90.0 |
| Source: Météo-France[5] | |||||||||||||
Education
editThree collèges and one lycée support the commune:
- Collège Jean Albany, with 1130 students (2005)
- Collège Texeira da Motta.
- Collège R.Verges, with 740 students (2005)
- Lycée Moulin Joli, with 1060 students (2006)
Sister cities
editPort Louis (Mauritius)
Villeneuve-d'Ascq (Metropolitan-France)
Antanifotsy (Madagascar)
Foshan (China)
Barakani (Anjouan - Comoros)
Gallery
editSee also
edit- Communes of the Réunion department
- Mafate valley and caldera
- La Grande Chaloupe
References
edit- ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
- ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
- ^ SPLAF (Site sur la Population et les Limites Administratives de la France). "Agglomérations et villes de la Réunion". Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
- ^ "Fiche Climatologique Statistiques 1991-2020 et records" (PDF) (in French). Météo-France. Retrieved August 29, 2022.