Geography of Suriname
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Suriname is located in the northern part of South America and is part of Caribbean South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana. It is mostly covered by tropical rainforest, 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.
There are currently two unresolved border disputes that affect the geography of Suriname, namely the Tigri Area in the southwestern region near Guyana and also the Marouini/Litani region with French Guiana in the southeast.
Location
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Continent: South America
Area
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Land:
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Water:
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Area - comparative: See order of magnitude 1 E+11 m². Slightly larger than Tunisia.
Land boundaries
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Total: Template:Convert
Border countries:
Coastline: Template:Convert
Maritime claims
[edit]Exclusive economic zone: Template:Convert and Template:Convert
Territorial sea: Template:Convert
Climate and climate change
[edit]Template:Further Suriname has a tropical rainforest climate and a tropical monsoon climate, with hot humid conditions year-round.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Climate change in both Suriname and the wider world is leading to hotter temperatures and more extreme weather. As a fairly poor country, its contributions to global climate change have been limited. Suriname has a large forest cover, the country has been running a carbon negative economy since 2014.<ref name="Carbon Negative">Template:Cite web</ref> Hotter temperatures<ref name="Historical Climate">Template:Cite web</ref> and changes in precipitation trends<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> are predicted because of climate change.
Terrain
[edit]Most of the country is made up of rolling hills, but there is a narrow coastal plain that has swampy terrain.
A recent global remote sensing analysis suggested that there were 781 km² of tidal flats in Suriname, making it the 34th ranked country in terms of tidal flat area.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Elevation extremes
Lowest point: Unnamed location in the coastal plain - Template:Convert below Sea Level.
Highest point: Juliana Top - Template:Convert
Natural resources
[edit]Timber, hydropower, fish, forests, hydroelectric potential, kaolin, shrimp, bauxite and gold. Small amounts of nickel, copper, platinum and iron ore. It also has sizeable oil.
Water
[edit]The country has one large reservoir, the Brokopondo Reservoir. Several rivers run through it, including the Suriname River, Nickerie River and Maroni or Marowijne River.
Land use
[edit](2018 Estimates)
Arable land:
0.4%
Permanent crops:
0.0%
permanent pasture:
0.1%
forest:
94.6%
Other:
4.9%
Irrigated land
[edit]Template:Convert (2003)
Natural hazards
[edit]Tropical Showers, no hurricanes.Template:Citation needed
Environment
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Current issues
[edit]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.
Climate change
[edit]International agreements
[edit]Suriname has agreed to the following agreements: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping--London Convention, Marine Dumping--London Protocol, Ozone Layer Protection, Paris Accords Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Extreme points
[edit]- Northernmost point – Oostelijke Polders
- Southernmost point – Border with Brazil Coeroeni
- Westernmost point – Border with Guyana, Sipaliwini District
- Easternmost point – Border with French Guiana, Sipaliwini District
- Highest point – Julianatop: 1,230 m
- Lowest point – unnamed location on the coastal plain: -2 m
See also
[edit]- Tigri Area, an unresolved territorial dispute involving Guyana and Suriname.
- Borders of Suriname, consisting of land borders with three countries: Guyana, Brazil, and France (via French Guiana)
References
[edit]External links
[edit]- "Guyana, or, the Kingdom of the Amazons" is a map from the 1600s of what is now known as Suriname
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