Geography of Guinea
administrative divisions .
Guinea is a country on the coast of West Africa and is bordered by Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Guinea is divided into four geographic regions: Forest Guinea ).
LocationGuinea lies in western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone. Its geographic coordinates are 11°00′N 10°00′W / 11.000°N 10.000°W. Area and boundaries
Guinea's land boundaries span a total of 4,046 km: with Ivory Coast 816 km, Guinea-Bissau 421 km, Liberia 590 km, Mali 1,062 km, Senegal 363 km, and Sierra Leone 794 km. It has a 320-km coastline, and claims an exclusive economic zone of 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi), with a territorial sea of 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi). ClimateThe coastal region of Guinea and most of the inland have a tropical climate, with a monsoonal-type rainy season lasting from April to November, relatively high and uniform temperatures, southwesterly winds, and high humidity. The capital Conakry's year-round average high is 32 °C (89.6 °F), and the low is 21 °C (69.8 °F). Conakry's average annual rainfall is almost 3,800 mm (149.6 in). Sahelian Upper Guinea has a shorter rainy season and greater daily temperature variations. There is a dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds.
Rivers and waterThe Niger River, the Gambia River, and the Senegal River are among the 22 West African rivers that have their origins in Guinea. Ecoregions
Resources and environmentThe country's natural resources include bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower, fish, and salt. It has 12.21% arable land, and 2.85% of the land is permanent crops. 949.2 km2 (2003) of land is irrigated. Guinea's total renewable water resources total 226 km3. Environmental issuesCurrent environmental issues in Guinea include: deforestation; inadequate supplies of potable water; desertification; soil contamination and erosion; and overfishing and overpopulation in forest regions. Poor mining practices have led to environmental damage. Guinea is party to the following international environmental agreements: Ship Pollution , Wetlands, Whaling.
TerrainIts terrain is generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior. The country's lowest point is the Atlantic Ocean (0 m), and highest is Mont Nimba (1,752 m).
A recent global remote sensing analysis suggested that there were 549km² of tidal flats in Guinea, making it the 47th ranked country in terms of tidal flat area.[2] This is a list of the extreme points of Guinea, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.
See also
References
This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook. |