Salazie () is a volcanic caldera and

commune (administrative division) A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

of the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

island of

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

, which is an

overseas department and region The overseas departments and regions of France (, ; DROM) are the five departments and regions of the French Republic which are located outside European France (also known as " metropolitan France"). These overseas entities have exactly the s ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The first settlement of the area took place in 1829 after a

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...

had devastated the nearby coast, and the municipality of Salazie was formed in 1889. The name of the commune is potentially derived from the Malagasy word ', meaning 'good encampment'.Presentation of Salazie
(from Flags of the World (website), with references)

Geography

Salazie lies in the middle of island, north-east of Piton des Neiges (the highest point on the island), in the Cirque de Salazie (actually a volcanic

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...

). The commune is totally landlocked, and borders the communes of Bras-Panon, Cilaos,

La Possession La Possession () is a Commune in France, commune in the France, French overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department of Réunion. It is located in the northwestern part of the island of Réunion, between the capital of Saint-Den ...

, Saint-André, Saint-Benoît, Saint-Denis, Sainte-Marie and Sainte-Suzanne.

Climate

Salazie has a subtropical highland climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfb''). The average annual temperature in Salazie is . The average annual rainfall is with February as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in January, at around , and lowest in July, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Salazie was on 16 January 2000; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 19 July 1991.

Population

Personalities

* Anchaing and Héva: reality or legend of a couple of runaway slaves

Gallery

File:Domaine-de-Mare-à-Citrons.jpg, Mare-à-Citrons File:Église-Salazie.JPG, Church of Salazie File:Chapelle du Pont de l'Escalier, Salazie, La Réunion.jpg

References

External links

CIREST siteOfficial site of the commune
Communes of Réunion Calderas of Réunion {{Reunion-geo-stub