Saint-Philippe () is a
commune in the
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
overseas department
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 ...
of
Réunion
Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...
. It is located in southeastern Reunion.
Geography
Saint-Philippe is on the highest point on the island. It borders the municipalities of
Saint-Joseph and
Sainte-Rose, to the west and north respectively. Although it is a coastal area, the administrative centre is in
Les Hauts (the highland area of the island).
Climate
Saint-Philippe 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 climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Af''). The average annual temperature in Saint-Philippe is . The average annual rainfall is with March 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 Saint-Philippe was on 10 December 2019; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 20 August 2008.
History
A notable event in the commune's history was in 1897, when the British troopship
RIMS ''Warren Hastings'' ran aground in the middle of the night. Two seamen died as a result, the crash sparked by a compass malfunction resulting from the eruption of the
Piton de la Fournaise
Piton de la Fournaise (; en, "Peak of the Furnace") is a shield volcano on the eastern side of Réunion island (a French overseas department and region) in the Indian Ocean. It is currently one of the most active volcanoes in the world, along ...
. On board the ship was some electricity, for which the village of Tremblet would have to wait until 1984 to finally receive.
Population
See also
*
Communes of the Réunion department
*
Ravine d'Ango
Ravine d'Ango is a village on the island of Réunion, located on its southeastern coast in the commune of Saint-Philippe
Saint-Philippe () is a communes of France, commune in the France, French overseas departments and regions of France, ove ...
References
Communes of Réunion
{{Reunion-geo-stub