French Guiana

Located on the northeast coast of South America, and extending from 1° 30′ to 5° 30′ N and from 51° 4′ to 54° 3′ W, French Guiana (Guyane Française) has an Atlantic shoreline of about 320 km (200 mi) and a total area of some 91,000 sq km (35,000 sq mi). It is separated from Brazil by the Oyapock River in the E and the Tumuc-Humac Mountains in the S (440 km/273 mi); and from Suriname by the Maroni River (398 km/247 mi) on the W. Its length is about 400 km (250 mi) N–S, and its width is 300 km (190 mi) E–W. Several islands offshore are part of French Guiana including: the Îles du Salut (Devil's Island, Royale, and Saint-Joseph).

French Guiana consists of a small, low swampy coast called "terres basses," varying from 10 to 30 km (6–19 mi) in width, and a vast, partly unexplored interior, the "terres hautes," with grassy plateaus, equatorial forests (which cover...