The Capesterre river is located on Basse-Terre Island (Guadeloupe archipelago, lesser Antilles arc). This volcanic island results from the ongoing subduction of the Atlantic plate under the Caribbean plate. Capesterre drains a watershed of 16.4 km2 located on the windward side of the active Soufrière volcano. The Capesterre catchment, mainly composed of lava and pyroclastic flows aged from 600 to 400 ky, is characterized by rather thin soils, typically ranging from 0.5 to 2 meters. Vegetation is dominated by tropical rainforest. The hydrologic regime is torrential: flow rate is characterized by abrupt variations due to tropical rains. Storms and hurricanes are particularly frequent during the rainy season from june to january.