Régina is a commune of

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

, an

overseas region The overseas departments and regions of France (french: départements et régions d'outre-mer, ; ''DROM'') are departments of France that are outside metropolitan France, the European part of France. They have exactly the same status as mainlan ...

and department of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

located in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

. With a land area of , it is the second-largest commune of France. The town is named after the first merchant who settled in the area.

Overview

Régina lies on the

Approuague River The Approuague river (or Apuruaque in Tupi Tupi may refer to: * Tupi people of Brazil * Tupi or Tupian languages, spoken in South America ** Tupi language, an extinct Tupian language spoken by the Tupi people * Tupi oil field off the coast of Bra ...

. In former times it was a

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

mining centre. During the 1870s, it was home to several thousand people. Guisanbourg was founded in April 1832 as the administrative centre. After the discovery gold, Régina became more important. In 1936, Régina became the capital of the commune. In the 1980s, Guisanbourg became a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

Villages

* Guisanbourg, former capital of the commune, and ghost town. * Kaw

Transport

Following the construction of a bridge over the Approuague River in 2003, an asphalted road from Régina to

Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock Saint-Georges (sometimes unofficially called Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock) is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. It lies on the Oyapock River (which forms the border with Brazil), ...

(a town by the Brazilian border) was opened in 2004, completing the road from

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's m ...

(the ''

préfecture In France, a prefecture (french: préfecture) may be: * the ''chef-lieu de département'', the commune in which the administration of a department is located; * the ''chef-lieu de région'', the commune in which the administration of a region is ...

'' and largest city of French Guiana) to the Brazilian border. It is now possible to drive on a fully paved road from

Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni (; gcr, Senloran di Maronni) is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni is one of the three sub-prefectures of French Guiana and the seat ...

on the

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

se border to

Oiapoque Oiapoque () is a municipality in the north of the state of Amapá, Brazil. Its population is 27,906 and its area is . Oiapoque is also a major river in the same state, forming the international border with French Guiana. The Oyapock River Bridge, ...

, Brazil.

Nature

The

Nouragues Nature Reserve Nouragues Nature Reserve is a French nature reserve in French Guiana created in 1995. It protects of tropical rainforest in the communes of Régina and Roura. Overview Nouragues Nature Reserve is the second largest nature reserve of France. ...

is located near the town. The reserve was created in 1996, and covers 76,000 hectares. In 1998, the

Kaw-Roura Marshland Nature Reserve The Kaw-Roura Marshland Nature Reserve ( French: ''Réserve naturelle nationale des marais de Kaw-Roura'') is a nature reserve in French Guiana, France. The reserve is a wetland, and can only be accessed by boat from Kaw. Overview The Kaw-Roura ...

was established, and covers an area of 94,700 hectares between

Roura Roura is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city of Roura is bordered by Matoury and Montsinéry-Tonnegrande in the North, Kourou and Saint-Elie in the North West and West, ...

and Régina, and is sometimes nicknamed "the Everglades of Guyana". The Petite Montagnes Tortue Biological Reserve is located the commune. It is mountain range of

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical ...

mountains which are home to many rare or

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

plants.

Climate

Régina has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

( Köppen ''Af'') with heavy to very heavy rainfall year-round.

References

External links

Régina at Annuaire Mairie
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Regina Communes of French Guiana