| Geography and Climate |
Suriname is located in Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana. Area - comparative: slightly larger than Georgia. Total land boundary is 1,707 km, border countries are Brazil 597 km, French Guiana 510 km, Guyana 600 km .
Climate is tropical; moderated by trade winds. Terrain consists mostly of rolling hills; narrow coastal plain with swamps. Elevation extreme has the lowest point in unnamed location in the coastal plain -2 m and highest point in Wilhelmina Gebergte 1,286 m. Natural resources are timber, hydropower potential, fish, kaolin, shrimp, bauxite, gold, and small amounts of nickel, copper, platinum, iron ore.
Environment—current issues: deforestation as timber is cut for export; pollution of inland waterways by small-scale mining activities
Geography—note: mostly tropical rain forest; great diversity of flora and fauna which for the most part is increasingly threatened by new development; relatively small population most of which lives along the coast
Ref. Anonymous, 1999 |