Régina (; ) is a commune of

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

, an

overseas 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 ...

and department of

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 ...

located in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. 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. In former times it was a

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

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 A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

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 Communes of France, commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. It lies on the Oyapock Ri ...

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

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Caye ...

(the '' préfecture'' 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 on the

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

se border to Oiapoque, Brazil.

Nature

The Nouragues Nature Reserve is located near the town. The reserve was created in 1996, and covers 76,000 hectares. In 1998, the Kaw-Roura Marshland Nature Reserve was established, and covers an area of 94,700 hectares between Roura 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 Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

mountains which are home to many rare or

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

plants.

Climate

Régina has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest 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 southeast Florida, United States ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

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

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Regina Communes of French Guiana