Because of its central position, Martinique is, with Grenada, the island of the arc of the Lesser Antilles which has the most complete recorded geological history. Indeed, the lands that outcrop and constitute its territory cover a period going from the Oligocene (25 million years ago) and the basal Miocene (20 million years ago) for the peninsulas of the east (Caravelle) and the south-east (Sainte-Anne) until present day for Mount Pelée to the north. Thus, the Caravelle peninsula (photo) is a remnant of what geologists call the Base Complex. Its volcanic formations alternate with limestone deposits within which many fossils have made it possible to date the age of the Base Complex to more than twenty-four million years.