Editing Martinique (section)

=== Relief ===
[[File:Martinique relief location map.jpg|thumb|Topographic relief map of Martinique]]
The terrain is mountainous on this island of volcanic origin. The oldest areas correspond to the volcanic zones at the southern end of the island and towards the peninsula of La Caravelle to the east. The island developed over the last 20 million years according to a sequence of movements and volcanic eruptions to the north.

The volcanic activity is due to the [[subduction]] fault located here, where the [[South American Plate]] slides beneath the [[Caribbean Plate]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/collegeatlasofwo0000nati |title=Atlas of the World |publisher=National Geographic |year=2007 |edition=10th |page=[https://archive.org/details/collegeatlasofwo0000nati/page/6 6]|isbn=978-0-471-74117-6 |url-access=registration}}</ref> Martinique has eight centres of volcanic activity. The oldest rocks are [[andesitic]] lavas dated to about 24 million years ago, mixed with [[tholeiitic]] [[magma]] containing iron and [[magnesium]]. Mount Pelée, the island's most dramatic feature, formed about 400,000 years ago.<ref name="EV">{{citation |title=Explore Volcanoes: Mount Pelée, Martinique |date=c. 2010 |url=http://www.explorevolcanoes.com/Martinique-caribbean-volcano.html |publisher=Maple Creative |format=web |access-date=8 April 2013 |archive-date=5 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130305234312/http://www.explorevolcanoes.com/Martinique-caribbean-volcano.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Pelée erupted in 1792, 1851, and twice in 1902.<ref name="EW" /> The eruption of 8 May 1902, destroyed Saint-Pierre and killed 28,000 people in 2 minutes; that of 30 August 1902, killed nearly 1,100, mostly in Le Morne-Rouge and Ajoupa-Bouillon.<ref name="Scarth">{{Cite book|last=Scarth|first=Alwyn|title=La catastrophe : the eruption of Mount Pelee, the worst volcanic eruption of the twentieth century|publisher=Oxford University|year=2002|location=Oxford}}</ref><ref name="Nature">{{Cite journal|date=1 June 1902|title=Notes|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/066134a0|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=66|issue=1701|pages=134–138|doi=10.1038/066134a0|bibcode=1902Natur..66..134.|issn=1476-4687|url-access=subscription|access-date=20 August 2021|archive-date=20 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820221723/https://www.nature.com/articles/066134a0|url-status=live}}</ref>

The east coast, coast of the wind or of the islands, has been called in the [[Caribbean]] "''cabesterre''". This term in Martinique designates more specifically the area of La Caravelle. This windward coast, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, is directly exposed to the trade winds and the sea bottom. The northern part of the Grand River in Sainte-Marie is basically surrounded by cliffs, with very few mooring points; access to maritime navigation is limited to inshore fishing with small traditional Martinique boats.