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 Cayenne / Rochambeau, French Guiana
Saint-Laurent-Du-Maroni, French Guiana
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:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 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),
cinnabar, kaolin, fish
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 90%
other: 10% (1996 est.)
Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: high frequency of heavy showers and severe
thunderstorms; flooding
Environment - current issues: NA
Geography - note: mostly an unsettled wilderness
Background: First settled by the French in 1604, French
Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951.
The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites
from Kourou.
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