Geography of Guyana

Situation

The Guyana is located on the South American continent on the Plateau of Guyanes, between the equator and the Tropic of Cancer, by 53° of Western longitude and 4° of Northern latitude.

Borders

See also: Land borders enters Brazil and France

Its borders are delimited in the east by the Oyapock, in the West by the river Maroni, in the south by the mounts Tumuc-Humac and in north by the Atlantic Ocean. Guyana is surrounded by the Surinam in the west and the Brésil in the east and the south.

Topography

The relief of Guyana was modelled starting from an old base bordered by a plain littoral. The essence of the area is at an altitude ranging between 100 and 200 meters, signs of a very old morphological and geomorphological evolution whose the weakness results from contrast topographic.

Two great topographic areas can be distinguished:

  • the plain coastal or " grounds basses" who extends on some tens of kilometers since the maritime border. It represents approximately 450.000 ha covered with marshes and savannas. It is an alluvial flat , more or less easily flooded of an altitude generally lower than 30 meters;

  • the high grounds which develop on the Guianese Bouclier and represents nearly 95% of the territory. The Tectonic absence of movement since the primary surface and the important erosion that it underwent carved forms of relief various of which most important and characteristic is a qualified convex half-orange hill, coarsely circular, high several tens of meters for a diameter higher than the kilometer. These half-oranges, present into large numbers, give to the high grounds the aspect of a sea of hills.

Climate

Guyana profits from a wet equatorial climate. Its variations are related to the oscillations of the Zone of intertropical convergence, which result from the contact between the anticyclones of the Azores and Holy Helene. Its position close to the equator and its oceanic frontage, confers a good climatic stability to him. The average annual temperature is of 26°C. They differ in general only from 2° C of the hottest month in the coldest month. The amplitudes weak on the coastal area and are marked a little inside.

One distinguishes four seasons:

  • the great rain season, April/May at mid-August;

  • the great dry season, of mid-August at November;
  • the small rain season, November/December at January/February;
  • the small dry season also called “small summer of March” in February /mars.

The most rainy months are May and June.

Hydrography

The hydrography of the area is characterized by a dense network. Abundant precipitations, the structure of the grounds and the impermeability of the ground explain the density of the network.

The large rivers which are the Maroni, the Oyapock, the Approuague and the Mana are the axes of penetration inside the country. However, modern navigation is made difficult by the presence of jumps and insuperable rapids, in low waters, without transshipment.

Geology

Guyana is located on the Guianese Bouclier which was constituted in country rocks which disappeared under the action of the erosion, not leaving that some scraps metamorphosed in contact with plutons granitic. One finds today two units geological: sedimentary formations recent and Precambrian formations .

The sedimentary absence of cover, eroded during time, lets level the Precambrian formations which have each one their form of relief characteristics: " hills in amandes" for the schists of Orapu, identical sowings of hills of the same height and with convex slopes for the Guianese granite. In addition to an influence on the forestry development (settlements, accessibilities,…), geology explains the high content in various ore (Or, Bauxite, Tantalite,…) at the base of the mining activities of Guyana, like the Gold washing.

Vegetation

Guyana is covered to 96% of a Equatorial forest of which the greatest part is a primary Forêt.

Natural resources and use of the territory

Natural resources : Wood, Gold, Bauxite, Diamond, kaolin, Manganese, Niobium, Platinum, tantalum,…

Natural reserves

There exist five natural reserves: the Nouragues, the Trinity, the island of the Large Constable, marshes of Kaw, the Amana

Geographical elements

Mountains

  • Tabular Summit (830 m)
  • Massive of Mitaraka (690 m)
  • Mount Saint-Marcel (635 m)

Rivers and rivers

  • Maroni, border natural with the Suriname, is also a crossing point and exchanges between the populations of Amerindian or African origins, the Bushinegues - textually, black of the forests - installed on one or the other of banks of the river.
  • Oyapock, natural border with the Brazil

Islands

  • List of the islands of Guyana

Communes

See also: Common of Guyana

The Principal agglomerations are located in edge of ocean. Three larger are:

  • Cayenne, a city organized around the place of the Cabbage trees and which is divided into principal avenues such as the De Gaulle avenue, the avenue Pasteur, the street Lallouette…
In the middle of an important agglomeration of approximately 126.000 inhabitants.
  • Kourou, an important pole of Guyana because of reception of the Guianese Space center and its future statute of international pole with the reception of Soyuz.
  • Saint-Laurent-of-Maroni the, third city of Guyana, centers 2nd district, is a city open on the river and whose multiculturalism and dynamism raised it with the row of pole of influence of Guyana.

Transportation routes

Random links:384 | Polimerasa | Salmon of wisdom | Montaña Clara | Untied aganippe | Barthelemy Hus-Desforges | Monroe_Beardsley