Saint-Paul | |
Commune Status: | Subprefecture and commune |
Map: | Locator map of Saint-Paul 2018.png |
Image Coat Of Arms: | Blason ville fr Saint-Paul (La Réunion).svg |
Arrondissement: | Saint-Paul |
Canton: | 3 cantons |
Insee: | 97415 |
Postal Code: | 97460 |
Mayor: | Emmanuel Seraphin[1] |
Term: | 2021 - 2026 |
Intercommunality: | Territoire de la Côte Ouest |
Coordinates: | -21.0097°N 55.2697°W |
Elevation M: | 4 |
Elevation Min M: | 0 |
Elevation Max M: | 2955 |
Area Km2: | 241.28 |
Saint-Paul (pronounced as /fr/) is the second-largest commune in the French overseas department of Réunion. It is located on the extreme west side of the island of Réunion.
Until 1999, near Saint Paul there was the 428m (1,404feet) tall mast OMEGA Chabrier transmitter.
Saint-Paul was to be the western terminus of the proposed Réunion Tram Train. However, the project was abandoned in May 2010 due to a lack of funds.
The traditional grave of French pirate Olivier Levasseur, nicknamed La Buse ("The Buzzard") or La Bouche ("The Mouth"), who was most famous for allegedly hiding one of the biggest treasures in pirate history, estimated at over £1 billion, is located in Saint-Paul's Cimetière marin de Saint-Paul cemetery. Besides pirates, the cemetery also serves as the permanent resting place of poets Leconte de Lisle and Eugène Dayot, as well as the painter Arthur Grimaud.
Saint-Paul has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw), closely bordering on a hot semi-arid climate (BSh). The average annual temperature in Saint-Paul is . The average annual rainfall is with January as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in February, at around, and lowest in July, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Saint-Paul was on 25 January 2019; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 14 August 1991.