Saint-Benoît is a commune in the French overseas department of Réunion, in the Indian Ocean. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Réunion, about 40 kilometres southeast of Saint-Denis, the capital.

Geography

It is the second largest city of the island by its surface area. In the west of the commune lies Grand Étang, the largest lake of La Réunion. Close to the lake flows the Bras d'Annette waterfall.

Climate

Saint-Benoît has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification Af). The climate is tropical, influenced by the winds called alizés, or trade winds. The average annual temperature in Saint-Benoît is 23.8 C. The average annual rainfall is 3455.9 mm with February as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in February, at around 26.5 C, and lowest in July, at around 21.0 C. The highest temperature ever recorded in Saint-Benoît was 34.1 C on 6 February 2004; the coldest temperature ever recorded was 10.5 C on 15 July 1991.

Population