Maripasoula

Maripasoula is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America on the northern Atlantic coast. With a land area of 18,360 km2 (7,090 sq mi), Maripasoula is the largest commune of France.[3]

Maripasoula
Commune
A view of Maripasoula post office
Location of the commune (in red) within French Guiana
Location of Maripasoula
Coordinates: 3°38′40″N 54°02′02″W
CountryFrance
Overseas region and departmentFrench Guiana
ArrondissementSaint-Laurent-du-Maroni
IntercommunalityOuest Guyanais
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Serge Anelli[1]
Area
1
18,360 km2 (7,090 sq mi)
Population
 (2017-01-01)[2]
13,227
 • Density0.72/km2 (1.9/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC−03:00
INSEE/Postal code
97353 /97370
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Overview

Maripasoula City is the capital of the county. Its inhabitants are known in French as Maripasouliens and Maripasouliennes. The commune marks the border between the Maroon tribes (Aluku and Nduyka) and the Amerindian Wayana tribe. Except for residents of the capital, the commune has a largely tribal population.[4]

The town of Maripasoula was founded by European colonists as Upper Maroni at the end of the 19th century when gold was discovered.[4] The town is very ethnically diverse. In 1953, the residents decided to change the name to Maripasoula.[5][4]

Since the beginning of the 21st century, Maripasoula is at the heart of a gold rush.[6] It has led to a population increase from 4,507 people in 2006 to 13,227 in 2016.[7] The majority of fortune seekers are illegal garimpeiro.[8] Efforts by the French gendarme and military to stop the illegal gold mining[8] have resulted in illegal settlements across the Lawa River in Suriname where villages have sprung up. The most important of these is Antonio do Brinco, which contains a string of supermarkets, restaurants, bars and brothels,[9] and caters both to the gold prospectors and the town of Maripasoula, because of significantly lower prices.[10] Because of problems with crime, the town is often referred to as "Far West", in a reference to the United States' historical Wild West.[6][11]

Sites of interest

National park

The territory of Maripasoula belongs to the Guiana Amazonian Park (French: Parc amazonien de Guyane).[12] Bellevue de l'Inini, the highest mountain in French Guiana, is located in Maripasoula.[13]

Protected buildings and historical monuments

Near the Maroni Rivers, petroglyphs have been found depicting drawings of many animals and humans.[14]

Transport

Maripasoula is served by the Maripasoula Airport,[15] with services on one commercial passenger airline.

The commune can be accessed only by air, or by boat via the Maroni river.[4] The unpaved path between Maripasoula and Papaïchton will be turned into a proper road. Road work has commenced on 20 July 2020 and is scheduled to be completed by 2021.[16] There are plans to extent the Route Nationale from Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni to Maripasoula,[17] however the Route Nationale currently ends south of Apatou.[18] Construction of the missing section is scheduled for 2021.[16]

Climate

Maripasoula has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen Af) and is warm and humid all year round. Although there is a decline in rainfall between August and November, this is much less marked than in Cayenne and Kourou.

Climate data for Maripasoula
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 29
(85)		 31
(87)		 29
(85)		 30
(86)		 29
(85)		 29
(85)		 30
(86)		 31
(87)		 32
(89)		 32
(90)		 32
(89)		 30
(86)		 31
(87)
Average low °C (°F) 22
(71)		 22
(71)		 22
(72)		 22
(72)		 23
(73)		 22
(71)		 21
(70)		 21
(70)		 21
(70)		 22
(71)		 22
(72)		 22
(72)		 22
(71)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 240
(9.4)		 220
(8.8)		 400
(15.9)		 370
(14.4)		 430
(16.8)		 310
(12.1)		 230
(9.2)		 190
(7.3)		 110
(4.2)		 99
(3.9)		 120
(4.7)		 200
(7.8)		 2,919
(114.5)
Source: Weatherbase [19]

Notable residents

Villages

See also

References
  1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  2. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  3. "Villes de plus grande taille, superficie, surface - toutes-les-villes". Toutes les Villes via Archive.org (in French). 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-03-02. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  4. "Guide Maripasoula". Petit Futé (in French). Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  5. "Ville de Maripasoula". Annuaire Mairie (in French). Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  6. "Pour l'or de Maripasoula". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 6 June 2020. Far West is in the first paragraph, which can be read without paying.
  7. "Population de Maripasoula". Linternaute (in French). Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  8. "Pour l'or de Maripasoula". Opex 360 (in French). Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  9. "La Vie en face". Une Saison en Guyane (in French). Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  10. "Verkeerde benzine-opslag oorzaak brand Antonio do Brinco". De Ware Tijd (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  11. "Guyane: se soigner au coeur de l'Amazonie". Rose Up magazine (in French).
  12. (in French) Parc de Guyane Archived 2010-03-15 at the Wayback Machine
  13. "Bellevue de L'Inni". Peak Bagger. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  14. "World Heritage Papers: Rock Art in the Caribbean". Study Lib.es. p. 244. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  15. "Maripasoula Airport". Airport Guide. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  16. "Route Maripasoula-Papaichton : 1 million d'euros par kilomètre". France Guyane (in French). Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  17. "Route de l'intérieur : de rendez-vous manqués en promesses non tenues". Guyane, le Première (in French). 5 May 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  18. "La route d'Apatou raccommodée". Guyane la Première (in French). Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  19. "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Maripasoula, French Guiana". Weatherbase. 2011. Retrieved on November 24, 2011.
  20. "Cyrille Regis". National-Football-Teams.com.
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