One of two main islands of the French overseas département of Guadeloupe in the Leeward Islands, West Indies; area 848 sq km/327 sq mi; population (1995 est) 169,000. A narrow stretch of water, the Rivière Salée, divides it from Grande-Terre, the other main island. It has an active volcano, Grande Soufrière, rising to 1,484 m/4,870 ft.