Location Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar

Geographic coordinates 21 06 S, 55 36 E

Map references World

Area
total: 2,512 sq km
water: 10 sq km
land: 2,502 sq km

Area - comparative slightly smaller than Rhode Island

Land boundaries 0 km

Coastline 207 km

Maritime claims
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April

Terrain mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast

Elevation extremes
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m

Natural resources fish, arable land, hydropower

Land use
arable land: 13%
permanent crops: 2%
other: 85% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land 120 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano

Environment - current issues NA

Geography - note this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean

NOTE: The information regarding Reunion on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Reunion Geography 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Reunion Geography 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.