Geography of Guyana
Template:Short description Template:Infobox country geography
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.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> With a Template:Convert-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.<ref name=":0" />
Geographic regionsEdit
The land comprises three main geographical zones: the coastal plain, the white sand belt and the interior highlands.<ref name=":0" />
The coastal plain, which occupies about 5 percent of the country's area, is home to more than 90 percent of its inhabitants.<ref name=":0" /> The plain ranges from five to six kilometers wide and extends from the Corentyne River in the east to the Venezuelan border in the northwest.<ref name=":0" />
The coastal plain is made up largely of alluvial mud swept out to sea by the Amazon River, carried north by ocean currents, and deposited on the Guyanese shores.<ref name=":0" /> A rich clay of great fertility, this mud overlays the white sands and clays formed from the erosion of the interior bedrock and carried seaward by the rivers of Guyana.<ref name=":0" /> Because much of the coastal plain floods at high tide, efforts to dam and drain this area have gone on since the 18th century.<ref name=":0" /> A recent global remote sensing analysis suggested that there were 1,178 km2 of tidal flats in Guyana, making it the 30th ranked country in terms of tidal flat area.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Guyana has no well-defined shoreline or sandy beaches.<ref name=":0" /> Approaching the ocean, the land gradually loses elevation until it includes many areas of marsh and swamp.<ref name=":0" /> Seaward from the vegetation line is a region of mud flats, shallow brown water, and sandbars.<ref name=":0" /> Off New Amsterdam, these mud flats extend almost Template:Convert.<ref name=":0" /> The sandbars and shallow water are a major impediment to shipping, and incoming vessels must partially unload their cargoes offshore in order to reach the docks at Georgetown and New Amsterdam.<ref name=":0" />
A line of swamps forms a barrier between the white sandy hills of the interior and the coastal plain.<ref name=":0" /> These swamps, formed when water was prevented from flowing onto coastal croplands by a series of dams, serve as reservoirs during periods of drought.<ref name=":0" />
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The white sand belt lies south of the coastal zone.<ref name=":0" /> This area is 150 to 250 kilometers wide and consists of low sandy hills interspersed with rocky outcroppings.<ref name=":0" /> The white sands support a dense hardwood forest.<ref name=":0" /> These sands cannot support crops, and if the trees are removed erosion is rapid and severe.<ref name=":0" /> Most of Guyana's reserves of bauxite, gold, and diamonds are found in this region.<ref name=":0" />
The largest of Guyana's three geographical regions is the interior highlands, a series of plateaus, flat-topped mountains, and savannahs that extend from the white sand belt to the country's southern borders.<ref name=":0" /> The Pacaraima Mountains dominate the western part of the interior highlands.<ref name=":0" /> In this region are found some of the oldest sedimentary rocks in the Western Hemisphere.<ref name=":0" /> Mount Roraima, on the Venezuelan border, is part of the Pakaraima range and, at 2,762 meters, is Guyana's tallest peak.<ref name=":0" /> Farther south lies the Kaieteur Plateau, a broad, rocky area about 600 meters in elevation; the 1,000-meter high Kanuku Mountains; and the low Acarai Mountains situated on the southern border with Brazil.<ref name=":0" />
Much of the interior highlands consist of grassland.<ref name=":0" /> The largest expanse of grassland, the Rupununi Savannah, covers about 15,000 square kilometers in southern Guyana.<ref name=":0" /> This savannah also extends far into Venezuela and Brazil.<ref name=":0" /> The part in Guyana is split into northern and southern regions by the Kanuku Mountains.<ref name=":0" /> The sparse grasses of the savannah in general support only grazing, although Amerindian groups cultivate a few areas along the Rupununi River and in the foothills of the Kanuku Mountains.<ref name=":0" />
HydrologyEdit
Guyana is a water-rich country.<ref name=":0" /> Numerous rivers flow into the Atlantic Ocean, generally in a northward direction.<ref name=":0" /> A number of rivers in the western part of the country, however, flow eastward into the Essequibo River, draining the Kaieteur Plateau.<ref name=":0" /> The Essequibo, the country's major river, runs from the Brazilian border in the south to a wide delta west of Georgetown.<ref name=":0" /> The rivers of eastern Guyana cut across the coastal zone, making east–west travel difficult, but they also provide limited water access to the interior.<ref name=":0" />
Waterfalls generally limit water transport to the lower reaches of each river.<ref name=":0" /> Some of the waterfalls are spectacular; for example, Kaieteur Falls on the Potaro River drops 226 metres.<ref name=":0" /> Other enormous waterfalls are King Edward VIII Falls (256 m), Kumerau Falls (190 m), Oshi Falls (160 – 210 m).Template:Citation needed In the country are known to exist more than 200 rapids and more than 70 large waterfalls.Template:Citation needed Many waterfalls are little known and most are not measured yet, it is possible that there are waterfalls in excess of 300 m tall.Template:Citation needed
Drainage throughout most of Guyana is poor and river flow sluggish because the average gradient of the main rivers is only one meter every five kilometers.<ref name=":0" /> Swamps and areas of periodic flooding are found in all but the mountainous regions, and all new land projects require extensive drainage networks before they are suitable for agricultural use.<ref name=":0" /> The average square kilometer on a sugar plantation, for example, has six kilometers of irrigation canals, eighteen kilometers of large drains, and eighteen kilometers of small drains.<ref name=":0" /> These canals occupy nearly one-eighth of the surface area of the average sugarcane field.<ref name=":0" /> Some of the larger estates have more than 550 kilometers of canals; Guyana itself has a total of more than 8,000 kilometers.<ref name=":0" /> Even Georgetown is below sea level and must depend on dikes for protection from the Demerara River and the Atlantic Ocean.<ref name=":0" />
Surface waters of GuyanaEdit
| River | Basin size (103 km2) | Average discharge (km3/year) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guyana | Total | Guyana | Total | |
| Berbice | 15.8 | 15.8 | 14.7 | 14.7 |
| Courantyne | 26 | 64 | 16.3 | 47 |
| Demerara | 7.5 | 7.5 | 11.6 | 11.6 |
| Essequibo | 115 | 154.2 | 148.8 | 178 |
| Pomeroon | 3.9 | 3.9 | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| Other | 46.8 | 44.3 | ||
| Guyana | 215 | 241 | ||
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ClimateEdit
Lying near the equator, Guyana has a tropical climate,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and temperatures do not vary much throughout the year.<ref name=":0" /> The year has two wet seasons, from December to early February and from late April to mid-August.<ref>Shaw, A.B. (1987), An analysis of the rainfall regimes on the coastal region of Guyana. J. Climatol., 7: 291-302. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.3370070307 p291</ref>
Although the temperature never gets dangerously high, the combination of heat and humidity can at times seem oppressive.<ref name=":0" /> The entire area is under the influence of the northeast trade winds, and during the midday and afternoon sea breezes bring relief to the coast. Guyana lies south of the path of Caribbean hurricanes and none is known to have hit the country.<ref name=":0" />
Temperatures in Georgetown are quite constant, with an average high of Template:Convert and an average low of Template:Convert in the hottest month (July), and an average range of Template:Convert in February, the coolest month.<ref name=":0" /> The highest temperature ever recorded in the capital was Template:Convert and the lowest Template:Convert.<ref name=":0" /> Humidity averages 70 percent year-round.<ref name=":0" /> Locations in the interior, away from the moderating influence of the ocean, experience slightly wider variations in daily temperature, and nighttime readings as low as Template:Convert have been recorded.<ref name=":0" /> Humidity in the interior is also slightly lower, averaging around 60 percent.<ref name=":0" />
Rainfall is heaviest in the northwest and lightest in the southeast and interior.<ref name=":0" /> Annual averages on the coast near the Venezuelan border are near Template:Convert, farther east at New Amsterdam Template:Convert, and Template:Convert in southern Guyana's Rupununi Savannah.<ref name=":0" /> Areas on the northeast sides of mountains that catch the trade winds average as much as Template:Convert of precipitation annually.<ref name=":0" /> Although rain falls throughout the year, about 50 percent of the annual total arrives in the summer rainy season that extends from May to the end of July along the coast and from April through September farther inland.<ref name=":0" /> Coastal areas have a second rainy season from November through January.<ref name=":0" /> Rain generally falls in heavy afternoon showers or thunderstorms.<ref name=":0" /> Overcast days are rare; most days include four to eight hours of sunshine from morning through early afternoon.<ref name=":0" />
CharacteristicsEdit
Geographic coordinates:Template:Coord
AreaEdit
- Total: 214,969 km2
- Land: 196,849 km2
- Water: 18,120 km2
Land boundariesEdit
- Total: 2,933 km
- Border countries: Brazil 1,308 km, Suriname 836 km, Venezuela 789 km
CoastlineEdit
Maritime claimsEdit
- Territorial sea: Template:Convert
- Exclusive economic zone: Template:Convert and Template:Convert
- Continental shelf: Template:Convert or to the outer edge of the continental margin
TerrainEdit
Mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south.
Elevation extremesEdit
- Lowest point: Atlantic Coast, -1 m
- Highest point: Mount Roraima, 2,835 m
Natural resourcesEdit
Bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish.
Land useEdit
- Arable land: 2.13%
- Permanent crops: 0.14%
- Other: 97.72%
Irrigated landEdit
- 1,501 km2 (2003)
Total renewable water resourcesEdit
- 241 km3 (2011)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)Edit
- Total: 1.64 km3/yr *4%/1%/94%)
- Per capita: 2,222 m3/yr (2010)
Natural hazardsEdit
- Flash floods are a constant threat during rainy seasons
- Hurricanes are becoming a threat during summertime
Environment, current issuesEdit
- Water pollution from sewage and agricultural and industrial chemicals; deforestation
Environment - international agreementsEdit
Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
Extreme pointsEdit
- Northernmost point – Waini Peninsula, Barima-Waini Region
- Southernmost point – border with Brazil near Wai-Wai, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region
- Westernmost point – Mount Venamo, border with Venezuela, Cuyuni-Mazaruni Region
- Easternmost point – border with Suriname and Brazil, East Berbice-Corentyne Region
- Highest point – Mount Roraima: 2,835 m
- Lowest point – Atlantic Coast: 0 m
Its westernmost point is disputed with Venezuela.
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
Template:Geography of South America Template:South America topic