French Guiana is an overseas region of France, located on the northern coast of South America between Suriname and Brazil. The country is part of Caribbean South America and borders the North Atlantic Ocean. It has low-lying plains with small mountains to the south. Its climate is split between tropical rainforest and tropical monsoon. French Guiana is mostly unsettled and has low land use.
French Guiana is situated on the northeast coast of South America between 2° and 5° latitude north and covers an area of 35,135 square miles. It is separated from Surinam (Dutch Guiana) by the Maroni River and two of its tributaries, the Aoua and Itany, in the west, and from Brazil by the Tumuc Humac Mountains in the south and the Oyapock River in the east. Its 200-mile Atlantic coastline is bordered by several rocky islands – the Iles du Salut (Devil's Island, Royale and Saint-Joseph), the Père and Mère Islands, Malingre Island and Rémire Island, and the two Connétables—which are all part of French Guiana.
This article appears to contradict the article French Guiana .(December 2023) |
Total: 91,000 km2
Land: 89,150 km2
Water: 1,850 km2
Total: 1,183 km
Border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km (disputed)
Coastline: 378 km
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi) territorial sea: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi).
Arable land: 0%
Other: 10% (1996 est.)
Irrigated land: 20 km2 (1993 est.)
Geography – note: mostly an unsettled wilderness.
Bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), cinnabar, kaolin, fish, shrimp, rice, bananas.
French Guiana's climate is tropical and hot with a Köppen climate classification of tropical rainforest (Af) throughout most of the country. Heavy showers, severe thunderstorms, and floodings are frequent, as is intense heat and humidity.
Although French Guiana is very close to the equator, the trade winds which blow almost the year round refresh the coastal region and prevent the formation of great tropical storms. The annual mean temperature on the coast is 80 °F (27 °C). There are two principal seasons: "summer" from July to December and the "rainy season" the rest of the year, broken only by a Short "March Summer."
Climate data for Cayenne (Köppen Am/Af) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 32.5 (90.5) | 32.3 (90.1) | 32.2 (90.0) | 33.0 (91.4) | 33.2 (91.8) | 33.7 (92.7) | 34.5 (94.1) | 35.0 (95.0) | 35.2 (95.4) | 35.1 (95.2) | 34.6 (94.3) | 34.1 (93.4) | 35.2 (95.4) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29.1 (84.4) | 29.2 (84.6) | 29.6 (85.3) | 29.9 (85.8) | 29.9 (85.8) | 30.2 (86.4) | 30.8 (87.4) | 31.6 (88.9) | 32.1 (89.8) | 32.2 (90.0) | 31.5 (88.7) | 30.1 (86.2) | 30.5 (86.9) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 26.2 (79.2) | 26.3 (79.3) | 26.5 (79.7) | 26.8 (80.2) | 26.7 (80.1) | 26.6 (79.9) | 26.6 (79.9) | 27.0 (80.6) | 27.2 (81.0) | 27.3 (81.1) | 27.0 (80.6) | 26.6 (79.9) | 26.7 (80.1) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 23.3 (73.9) | 23.4 (74.1) | 23.5 (74.3) | 23.7 (74.7) | 23.5 (74.3) | 22.9 (73.2) | 22.4 (72.3) | 22.4 (72.3) | 22.2 (72.0) | 22.3 (72.1) | 22.5 (72.5) | 23.1 (73.6) | 22.9 (73.2) |
Record low °C (°F) | 17.4 (63.3) | 18.9 (66.0) | 18.5 (65.3) | 19.0 (66.2) | 18.8 (65.8) | 18.9 (66.0) | 19.0 (66.2) | 19.0 (66.2) | 18.7 (65.7) | 18.6 (65.5) | 17.2 (63.0) | 18.0 (64.4) | 17.2 (63.0) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 451.2 (17.76) | 309.4 (12.18) | 334.3 (13.16) | 448.4 (17.65) | 579.4 (22.81) | 411.4 (16.20) | 245.7 (9.67) | 143.6 (5.65) | 55.7 (2.19) | 63.3 (2.49) | 133.4 (5.25) | 340.5 (13.41) | 3,516.3 (138.44) |
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 23.6 | 20.0 | 20.7 | 22.2 | 26.4 | 25.2 | 20.6 | 14.2 | 7.1 | 7.6 | 11.9 | 21.6 | 221.1 |
Average relative humidity (%) | 82 | 80 | 82 | 84 | 85 | 82 | 78 | 74 | 71 | 71 | 76 | 81 | 79 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 95.1 | 92.4 | 120.0 | 123.5 | 122.4 | 150.4 | 200.5 | 234.4 | 253.4 | 256.4 | 211.5 | 143.3 | 2,003 |
Source: Meteo France [1] [2] |
French Guiana extends almost 250 miles into the continent and is divided into two natural zones: a small, low, swampy coastal area called the "Terres Basses," varying from ten to thirty miles in width, and a granite peneplain called the "Terres Hautes," worn down by erosion into steps forming a series of low steep hills. Almost the entire country is covered by rain forest and its many large rivers and streams, although their courses are broken by rapids, constitute the only natural means of penetration into the interior. The main rivers, flowing in a general south–north direction, are the Maroni, the Mana, the Iracoubo, the Sinnamary, the Kourou, the Mahury, the Approuague and the Oyapock.
Transport in French Guiana consists of transport by road, boat, bus, and airplane. There is a railway line within the Guiana Space Centre to transport spacecraft. The road network is mainly concentrated in the coastal region. The interior of Guiana is accessed by plane or boat. There is one main airport, however there are several smaller airstrips in the interior.
Suriname is located in the northern part of South America and is part of Caribbean South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana. It is mostly covered by tropical rainforest, containing a great diversity of flora and fauna that, for the most part, are increasingly threatened by new development. There is a relatively small population, most of which live along the coast.
The Geography of Guyana comprises the physical characteristics of the country in Northern South America and part of Caribbean South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela, with a land area of approximately 214,969 square km. The country is situated between 1 and 9 north latitude and between 56 and 62 west longitude. With a 459 km (285 mi)-long Atlantic coastline on the northeast, Guyana is bounded by Venezuela on the west, Brazil on the west and south, and Suriname on the east.
Cayenne is the prefecture of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's motto is "fert aurum industria", which means "work brings wealth". Cayenne is the largest Francophone city of the South American continent.
The Guianas, also spelled Guyanas or Guayanas, is a region in north-eastern South America. Strictly, the term refers to the three Guyanas: Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, formerly British, Dutch and French Guyana. Broadly it refers to the South American coast from the mouth of the Oronoco to the mouth of the Amazon.
The Maroni or Marowijne is a river in South America that forms the border between French Guiana and Suriname.
The Aluku are a Bushinengue ethnic group living mainly on the riverbank in Maripasoula in southwest French Guiana. The group are sometimes called Boni, referring to the 18th-century leader, Bokilifu Boni.
Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni is one of the three sub-prefectures of French Guiana and the seat of the Arrondissement of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. It is the second most populous city of French Guiana, with 50,250 inhabitants at the January 2021 census.
Saint-Georges is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. It lies on the Oyapock River, opposite the Brazilian town of Oiapoque. The town contains a town hall, a French Foreign Legion detachment, and some hotels. Saint-Georges has been one of the three sub-prefectures of French Guiana and the seat of the Arrondissement of Saint-Georges since October 2022.
The 3 arrondissements of the Guyane department are:
Maripasoula, previously named Upper Maroni, is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. With a land area of 18,360 km2 (7,090 sq mi), Maripasoula is the largest commune of France. The commune is slightly larger than the country of Kuwait or the U.S. state of New Jersey.
The Tumuk Humak Mountains are a mountain range in South America, stretching about 120 kilometers (75 mi) east–west in the border area between Brazil in the south and Suriname and French Guiana in the north. In the language of the Apalam and Wayana peoples, Tumucumaque means "the mountain rock symbolizing the struggle between the shaman and the spirits". The range is very remote and almost inaccessible.
Articles related to the French overseas department of Guiana(Région Guyane) include:
French Guiana is an overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west and Brazil to the east and south, French Guiana covers a total area of 84,000 km2 (32,000 sq mi) and a land area of 83,534 km2 (32,253 sq mi), and is inhabited by 295,385 people.
The Franco-Brazilian Binational Bridge spans the Oyapock River, linking the cities of Oiapoque in Amapá, Brazil and Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock in French Guiana, France. The bridge is cable-stayed, with two towers rising to a height of 83 metres (272 ft) and a length of 378 metres (1,240 ft). There are two lanes for vehicles with a total width of 9 metres (30 ft) and a pedestrian sidewalk with a width of 2.50 metres. The vertical clearance under the bridge is 15 metres (49 ft).
Maripasoula Airport is an airport 3.5 km (1.9 NM) north of Maripasoula, a commune in the arrondissement of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni in French Guiana. It is near the Lawa River, which forms the border between French Guiana and Suriname.
The borders of Suriname consist of land borders with three countries: Guyana, Brazil, and France. The borders with Guyana and France are in dispute, but the border with Brazil has been uncontroversial since 1906.
The Guianan moist forests (NT0125) is an ecoregion in the east of Venezuela, north of Brazil and the Guyanas. It is in the Amazon biome. The climate is hot and humid, with two rainy seasons each year. As of 1996 the tropical rainforest habitat was relatively intact, although there were mounting threats from illegal logging and gold mining.
The Guianan marine ecoregion stretches along the middle of the northeast coast of South America, touching Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. It extends about 200 miles offshore, with the warm Guianan Current moving east-to-west through the region. This current brings in fresh, turbid waters from the mouth of the Amazon River to the east. As the current exits the ecoregion to the west it contributes an estimated 70% of the waters of the Caribbean Sea. A very large oil field has been recently discovered in the Guyana-Suriname Basin of the ecoregion. The Guianan is one of two ecoregions in the North Brazil Shelf province, a Large marine ecosystem (LME). The Guianan is thus part of the larger Tropical Atlantic realm.
As of 2018, there are 440 kilometres of national roads, 408 kilometres of departmental road, and 1,311 kilometres of municipal roads in French Guiana. There is no motorway.
This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook. CIA.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain :France. (1961–1962). France overseas. New York: Ambassade de France, Service de presse et d'information.