French Guiana Geography - 2005

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: 0.14%
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