Guyana Geography
Guyana has a land area of approximately 214,969 square kilometres or 83,000 square miles. With a 459-kilometre Atlantic coastline on the northeast, Guyana is bounded by Venezuela on the west, Brazil on the west and south, and Suriname on the east.
The land comprises three main geographical zones: the coastal plain, the white sand belt, and the interior highlands.
The coastal plain, which occupies about 5 percent of the country's area, is home to more than 90 percent of its inhabitants. The plain ranges from 26 to 77 kilometers wide and extends from the Corentyne River in the east to the Venezuelan border in the northwest.
The white sand belt lies south of the coastal zone. This area is 150 to 250 kilometers wide and consists of low sandy hills interspersed with rocky outcroppings. The white sands support a dense hardwood forest. These sands cannot support crops however, and if the trees are removed, erosion is rapid and severe. Additionally, most of Guyana's reserves of bauxite, gold, and diamonds are found in this region.
Finally, 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 northen coast to the southern borders. Mount Roraima, on the Venezuelan border, is part of the Pakaraima range and, at 2,762 meters, is Guyana's tallest peak. 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.
Lying near the equator, Guyana has a tropical climate, and temperatures do not vary much throughout the year. The year has two wet seasons, from December to early February and from late April to mid-August. Although the temperature never gets dangerously high, the combination of heat and humidity can at times seem oppressive. 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.
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