South Soufriere Hills South Soufriere Hills South Soufriere Hills is a 35 ha patch of forest on the island of Montserrat, a British Overseas Territory in the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean Sea. It forms one of the territory’s Important Bird Areas (IBAs). The IBA comprises the largest remnant of Montserrat’s native forest in the Soufrière Hills, in the exclusion zone. It has survived the volcanic eruptions and pyroclastic flows that have devastated and depopulated the southern half of the island since the late 1990s. It lies only about 1.5 km south of 915 m Chances Peak, the highest point of the island
Basse-Terre Island 16 communes (municipalities). The population density was . The largest city on Basse-Terre Island is the city of Basse-Terre which had 37,455 inhabitants in its urban area at the 2006 census. The city of Basse-Terre is the prefecture (capital) of Guadeloupe. Despite its name, Basse-Terre Island (literally "Low Land" Island, "Down Land" Island) is the highest island of Guadeloupe, rising to above sea level at the Soufrière volcano. The name of the island is the result of French terminology used in the Caribbean in the 17th century. In the Caribbean, the prevailing winds blow from the northeast (see trade wind),