French Guiana Geography Profile 2006

Location

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

Geographic coordinates

4 00 N, 53 00 W

Map references

South America

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: 0.13%
permanent crops: 0.04%
other: 99.83% (90% forest, 10% other) (2005)

Irrigated land

20 sq km (2003)

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