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La Désirade
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La Désirade, Lesser Antilles
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Island, New Caledonia.
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La Désirade, Lesser Antilles
La Désirade, Lesser Antilles

La Désirade

island, Caribbean Sea
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La Désirade, island in the Lesser Antilles, eastern Caribbean Sea, and a dependency of Guadeloupe, an overseas département of France. It lies 6 miles (10 km) east of the island of Grande-Terre. La Désirade is made of coral and is roughly oblong in shape. For more than 200 years, until 1958, it was a leper colony. The population is largely impoverished and depends mainly on fishing, working on sailboats, and some farming. Area 27 square miles (70 square km). Pop. (1999) 1,620; (2019 est.) 1,419.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.