Geography of Suriname

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Contents 1 Location 1.1 Area 1.2 Land boundaries: 1.3 Maritime claims 2 Climate and Terrain 2.1 Climate 2.2 Terrain 2.2.1 Elevation extremes 2.3 Natural resources 2.4 Land use 2.4.1 Irrigated land 2.4.2 Natural hazards 3 Environment 3.1 Current Issues 3.2 International Agreements 4 Note 5 See also

[edit] Location

Suriname is located in northern South America and is part of Caribbean South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana.

Geographic coordinates: 4°00′N 56°00′W

Map references: South America

[edit] Area

Total: 163,270 km²
Land: 161,470 km²
Water: 1,800 km²

Area - Comparative: Slightly larger than the U.S. state of Georgia.

[edit] Land boundaries:

Total: 1,707 km
Border Countries: Brazil- 597 km, French Guiana- 510 km, Guyana- 600 km

Coastline: 386 km

[edit] Maritime claims

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

[edit] Climate and Terrain

[edit] Climate

Suriname has a tropical environment, and is moderated by strong winds.

[edit] Terrain

Most of the country is made up of rolling hills, but there is a narrow coastal plain that has swampy terrain.

[edit] Elevation extremes

Lowest point: Unnamed location in the coastal plain- 2 m below Sea Level.
Highest point: Wilhelmina Gebergte- 1,286 m

[edit] Natural resources

Timber, hydropower, fish, kaolin, shrimp, bauxite and gold. Small amounts of nickel, copper, platinum and iron ore.

[edit] Land use

(Using 1993 Estimates)

Arable land 0%
Permanent crops 0%
Permanent pastures: 0%
Forests and Woodland: 96%
Other: 4%

[edit] Irrigated land

(Using 1993 Estimates)

600 km²

[edit] Natural hazards

N/A

[edit] Environment

[edit] Current Issues

Deforestation is a real problem as timber is cut for export. There is also a lot of pollution of inland waterways by small-scale mining activities.

[edit] International Agreements

Suriname has agreed to the following agreements: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

[edit] Note

Mostly tropical rain forest, containing a great diversity of flora and fauna that, for the most part, are increasingly threatened by new development. There is a relatively small population, most of which live along the coast.

[edit] See also

• Suriname