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Désirade, La| Island in the Windward Islands, in the West Indies, a dependency of Guadeloupe, an overseas department of France; area 70 sq km/27 sq mi; population (1997) 1,700. It rises to a height of 275 m/902 ft, falling away to the northwest, and is approximately 11 km/7 mi long and 2 km/1 mi wide. The principal occupations are fishing, rearing sheep, and cultivating cotton and maize. |
| The island is said to have been named La Desiderada by the explorer Christopher Columbus because it was the first land he saw on his second voyage in 1493. |
| It was first occupied by the French in 1725 when lepers from Guadeloupe were transported here, and in 1930 a leper hospital was built here which closed in 1954. The island ceased to be a leper colony in 1958. |
| La Désirade is an island of tabular limestone, much eroded by karstic action. The island is noted for its aridity. |
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