French Guiana

French Guiana Geography

Location
Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname

Geographic coordinates
4 00 N, 53 00 W

Area
total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km
water: 1,850 sq km

Area - comparative
slightly smaller than Indiana

Land boundaries
total: 1,183 km
border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km

Coastline
378 km

Maritime claims
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate
tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain
low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains

Elevation extremes
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m

Natural resources
bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum, kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay

Land use
arable land: 0.14%
permanent crops: 0.05%
other: 99.81% (90% forest, 10% other) (2001)

Irrigated land
20 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards
high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding

Environment - current issues
NA

Geography - note
mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent



- Info Provided by the CIA World Factbook -