Geography of French Guiana

French Guiana is considered to be a large nation because of its total area. Its total land area is 83,534 km² (approx. 32,253 mi²). Continental shelf of French Guiana is approximately 0 km² (around 0 mi²). French Guiana is located in South America. The vast majority of South American citizens speak Spanish or Portuguese. South American countries include, but are not limited to, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. French Guiana has 2 neighbouring countries. Its neighbours include Brazil, Suriname. French Guiana is not a landlocked country. It means that is is bordered by at least one major body of water. The average elevation range of French Guiana is 168 m (551 ft).

Neighbors

Total length of land borders of French Guiana is 1205 kilometers (~465 miles). French Guiana shares its land borders with 2 different countries, and has the same number of unique land boundaries to neigbouring territories. As in the case of French Guiana, if a country has the same number of unique neighboring territories as number of land borders, than that country has no non-contiguous sections of a land border. This is in contrast to several countries that have multiple non-contiguous sections of land borders. French Guiana has 2 neighbouring countries. Its neighbours include Brazil, and Suriname. The lengths of the land borders of French Guiana with its neighbouring countries are as follows:

• Brazil - 673 km (418 mi),
• Suriname - 510 km (317 mi).

Cities

The capital city of French Guiana is Cayenne.

Elevation

The average elevation range of French Guiana is 168 m (551 ft). The highest point of French Guiana is Bellevue de l'Inini, with its official height being 851 m (2,792 ft). The lowest point of French Guiana is Atlantic Ocean. The elevation difference between the highest (Bellevue de l'Inini) and lowest (Atlantic Ocean) points of French Guiana is 851 m (2 ft).

Area

The total land area of French Guiana is 83,534 km² (approx. 32,253 mi²). and the total exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is 0 km² (~0 mi²). The continental shelf of French Guiana is approximately 0 km² (around 0 mi²). Including land mass and EEZ, the total area of French Guiana is approximately 83,534 km² (~32,253 mi²). French Guiana is considered to be a large nation because of its total area.

Forest and arable land

Read our section on climate to discover what parameters affect these and other biomes of the country.

Natural resources

The most notable natural resources found in French Guiana are gold deposits, petroleum, kaolin, niobium, tantalum, clay.