The Reunion Island

Reunion Island Nowadays

A Volcanic Island Rises from the Sea

Some 3 million years ago, when earth's vegetation was already much as we know it today, Reunion Island emerged from the Indian Ocean, far from continents ... So, just a short time ago, this island was nothing more than a barren rock in the middle of the ocean . The water and the air were the only possible paths of colonization, plus the birds and finally human beings .

Carried by the Winds, Birds and Human Beings ...

Seeds, spores and arthropods by air : Lichens, mosses, butterflies, spiders, ... Species with the birds : plants with little plump fruits, ficus and begonias . Species by sea : trees with large nuts such as palm tree, tamarind and the Indian almond tree . Finally, people arrived in the 17th century and were the source of many additions .

Reunion Island Nowadays

Geographical position: Situated in the Southern hemisphere, some 750 km from Madagascar, Reunion Island, a french Overseas department, is a tropical volcanic island with a relief particularly accentuated . Its tallest summit "Le Piton des Neiges" reaches 3,069 m . Surface area : 2,512 sq.km (+ 30 hectares gained from lava reaching the ocean in 1986) . Maximum diameter: 70 km and length of the coastline: 207 km .

The island is characterized by numerous micro-climates : Temperatures, which are normally relatively high along the coasts, are elsewhere quite moderate in relation to the altitude . The conditions of climate and rainfall usually undergo modifications during the austral summer when Reunion is occasionally submitted to the effects of cyclones or tropical depressions .