Camopi
Camopi | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Camopi | |
 Location of the commune (in red) within French Guiana | |
Location of Camopi  | |
| Coordinates: 3°09′56″N 52°20′28″W / 3.1655°N 52.3411°W | |
| Country | France |
| Overseas region and department | French Guiana |
| Arrondissement | Saint-Georges |
| Intercommunality | Est Guyanais |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Laurent Yawalou[1] |
| Area 1 | 10,030 km2 (3,870 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[2] | 2,146 |
| • Density | 0.21/km2 (0.55/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC−03:00 |
| INSEE/Postal code | 97356 /97330 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Camopi (French pronunciation: [kamɔpi]; French Guianese Creole: Kanmopi) is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. Camopi is mainly inhabited by Amerindians of the Wayampi and Teko tribes.[3]
History
[edit]
In 1738, a Jesuit mission opened on the river Oyapock near the current town of Camopi. The missionaries brought European diseases and caused a depopulation. In 1763, the Jesuits left and most of the population dispersed.[3]
During the 18th and 19th century, the Teko had moved into the area which had been home to the Wayampi, and by the 1830s, their territories overlap, however the tribes remained isolated.[4] In 1930s, France and Brazil renewed their interest in the area, and wanted to establish borders.[5] Medical facilities were established in the mid-1950s followed by a school. In the 1960s attempts were made to group the population into bigger villages with limited success. A granman (paramount chief) was installed according to the Maroon hierarchy, but failed to catch on.[6]
In 1969, the town of Camopi was established. Parts of the tribes rejected the modernisations, and in 1970 access to the commune had been restricted.[7] In 1987, Jacques Chirac as Prime Minister had established Zones of Collective Use Rights (ZDUC).[8] ZDUC means that the villages have communal land for hunting, fishing, agriculture and gathering.[9]
In the late 1980s, gold had been discovered around the river Camopi. Illegal gold miners have moved into area, and villages of Vila Brasil and Ilha Bela had been established opposite the town of Camopi on the other side of the river Oyapock.[10] The 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment has set up a camp to protect the border.[11] Even though Vila Brasil had been built illegally in a nature reserve, Brazil designated Vila Brasil as a district of the municipality in 2011.[10] In 2013, the access to the village of Camopi was no longer restricted, and the town had slowly opened for tourism.[3] The southern village cluster of Trois Sauts still requires a special permit from the Prefecture.[12] In the early 21st century, the Amerindians started to build hamlets with subsistence farms several kilometres from the town of Camopi. By 2010, there were 45 hamlets, and most had left the main town.[13]
Geography
[edit]With a land area of 10,030 km2 (3,870 sq mi), it is the third-largest commune of France.[14]
The village of Camopi, seat of the commune, lies on the border with Brazil at the confluence of the rivers Camopi and Oyapock. The commune can only be reached by boat or via the air.[11] It is served by Camopi Airport.[15]
Mont Itoupé, the second highest mountain of French Guiana, is located within the commune.[16]
Climate
[edit]Camopi has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification Am). The average annual temperature in Camopi is 27.2 °C (81.0 °F). The average annual rainfall is 2,696.5 mm (106.16 in) with May as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in October, at around 28.6 °C (83.5 °F), and lowest in February, at around 26.4 °C (79.5 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Camopi was 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) on 30 October 2018; the coldest temperature ever recorded was 16.8 °C (62.2 °F) on 14 September 1978.
| Climate data for Camopi (1991–2020 averages, extremes 1955−present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 35.5 (95.9) |
35.3 (95.5) |
36.1 (97.0) |
35.5 (95.9) |
36.9 (98.4) |
35.6 (96.1) |
35.9 (96.6) |
37.0 (98.6) |
37.8 (100.0) |
38.5 (101.3) |
38.2 (100.8) |
37.0 (98.6) |
38.5 (101.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.7 (87.3) |
30.4 (86.7) |
30.9 (87.6) |
31.0 (87.8) |
30.7 (87.3) |
31.2 (88.2) |
31.7 (89.1) |
32.9 (91.2) |
34.1 (93.4) |
35.0 (95.0) |
34.3 (93.7) |
32.1 (89.8) |
32.1 (89.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 26.6 (79.9) |
26.4 (79.5) |
26.7 (80.1) |
27.0 (80.6) |
26.8 (80.2) |
26.9 (80.4) |
26.8 (80.2) |
27.4 (81.3) |
28.0 (82.4) |
28.6 (83.5) |
28.4 (83.1) |
27.3 (81.1) |
27.2 (81.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 22.5 (72.5) |
22.5 (72.5) |
22.6 (72.7) |
22.9 (73.2) |
23.0 (73.4) |
22.4 (72.3) |
21.9 (71.4) |
22.0 (71.6) |
22.0 (71.6) |
22.1 (71.8) |
22.4 (72.3) |
22.6 (72.7) |
22.4 (72.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 18.0 (64.4) |
18.3 (64.9) |
18.0 (64.4) |
18.9 (66.0) |
17.5 (63.5) |
17.5 (63.5) |
18.6 (65.5) |
18.0 (64.4) |
16.8 (62.2) |
18.0 (64.4) |
18.0 (64.4) |
18.0 (64.4) |
16.8 (62.2) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 313.1 (12.33) |
311.5 (12.26) |
310.0 (12.20) |
388.1 (15.28) |
384.0 (15.12) |
264.8 (10.43) |
190.8 (7.51) |
109.9 (4.33) |
46.6 (1.83) |
56.9 (2.24) |
86.0 (3.39) |
234.8 (9.24) |
2,696.5 (106.16) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 24.4 | 21.9 | 23.0 | 24.1 | 25.9 | 23.3 | 19.8 | 12.3 | 6.8 | 6.7 | 10.7 | 20.5 | 219.5 |
| Source: Météo-France[17] | |||||||||||||
Villages
[edit]See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 4 May 2022.
- ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
- ^ a b c "Guide Camopi". Petit Futé (in French). Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- ^ Davy & Tritsch 2012, p. 5.
- ^ Davy & Tritsch 2012, p. 7.
- ^ Davy & Tritsch 2012, p. 9.
- ^ Davy & Tritsch 2012, p. 10.
- ^ "Un atlas des Zones de droits d'usage collectifs en Guyane". journals.openedition.org (in French). 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
- ^ "Les zones de droit d'usage des Amérindiens : comprendre les attributions du foncier pour mieux le gérer (1/2)". France la Première (in French). Retrieved 31 May 2020.
- ^ a b Davy & Tritsch 2012, p. 13.
- ^ a b "Camopi: visite de Camopi en Guayne". America FR (in French). Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- ^ "Musiques et danses Wayampi". Une Saison en Guyane (in French). Retrieved 1 August 2020.
- ^ Davy & Tritsch 2012, p. 16.
- ^ "Villes de plus grande taille, superficie, surface - toutes-les-villes" (in French). 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-03-02. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- ^ "Vila Brasil Airport". Airport Guide. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- ^ Pierre-Olivier Jay & Lise Landrin. "Itoupé: le sommet oublié de Guyane". Une Saison de Guyane (in French). Retrieved 20 March 2021.
- ^ "Fiche Climatologique Statistiques 1991-2020 et records" (PDF) (in French). Météo-France. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
Bibliography
[edit]- Davy, Damien; Tritsch, Isabelle (2012). "Construction et restructuration territoriale chez les Wayãpi et Teko de la commune de Camopi, Guyane française". Research Gate (in French).
External links
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