Editing Geography of Guyana (section)

==Geographic regions==
The land comprises three main geographical zones: the coastal plain, the white sand belt and the interior highlands.<ref name=":0" />

The coastal plain, which occupies about 5 percent of the country's area, is home to more than 90 percent of its inhabitants.<ref name=":0" /> The plain ranges from five to six kilometers wide and extends from the [[Corentyne River]] in the east to the Venezuelan border in the northwest.<ref name=":0" />

The coastal plain is made up largely of alluvial mud swept out to sea by the Amazon River, carried north by ocean currents, and deposited on the Guyanese shores.<ref name=":0" /> A rich clay of great fertility, this mud overlays the white sands and clays formed from the erosion of the interior bedrock and carried seaward by the rivers of Guyana.<ref name=":0" /> Because much of the coastal plain floods at high tide, efforts to dam and drain this area have gone on since the 18th century.<ref name=":0" /> A recent global remote sensing analysis suggested that there were 1,178&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> of tidal flats in Guyana, making it the 30th ranked country in terms of tidal flat area.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Murray |first1=N.J. |last2=Phinn |first2=S.R. |last3=DeWitt |first3=M. |last4=Ferrari |first4=R. |last5=Johnston |first5=R. |last6=Lyons |first6=M.B. |last7=Clinton |first7=N. |last8=Thau |first8=D. |last9=Fuller |first9=R.A. |title=The global distribution and trajectory of tidal flats |journal=Nature |date=2019 |volume=565 |issue=7738 |pages=222–225 |doi=10.1038/s41586-018-0805-8 |pmid=30568300 |s2cid=56481043 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0805-8}}</ref>

Guyana has no well-defined shoreline or sandy beaches.<ref name=":0" /> Approaching the ocean, the land gradually loses elevation until it includes many areas of marsh and swamp.<ref name=":0" /> Seaward from the vegetation line is a region of mud flats, shallow brown water, and sandbars.<ref name=":0" /> Off New Amsterdam, these mud flats extend almost {{convert|25|km}}.<ref name=":0" /> The sandbars and shallow water are a major impediment to shipping, and incoming vessels must partially unload their cargoes offshore in order to reach the docks at [[Georgetown, Guyana|Georgetown]] and [[New Amsterdam, Guyana|New Amsterdam]].<ref name=":0" />

A line of swamps forms a barrier between the white sandy hills of the interior and the coastal plain.<ref name=":0" /> These swamps, formed when water was prevented from flowing onto coastal croplands by a series of dams, serve as reservoirs during periods of drought.<ref name=":0" />
[[File:Share Of Forest Area In Total Land Area, Top Countries (2021).svg|thumb|330x330px|Share of forest area in total land area, top countries (2021). Guyana has the second highest percentage of forest cover in the world.]]
The white sand belt lies south of the coastal zone.<ref name=":0" /> This area is 150 to 250 kilometers wide and consists of low sandy hills interspersed with rocky outcroppings.<ref name=":0" /> The white sands support a dense hardwood forest.<ref name=":0" /> These sands cannot support crops, and if the trees are removed erosion is rapid and severe.<ref name=":0" /> Most of Guyana's reserves of bauxite, gold, and diamonds are found in this region.<ref name=":0" />

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 white sand belt to the country's southern borders.<ref name=":0" /> The [[Pacaraima Mountains]] dominate the western part of the interior highlands.<ref name=":0" /> In this region are found some of the oldest sedimentary rocks in the Western Hemisphere.<ref name=":0" /> [[Mount Roraima]], on the Venezuelan border, is part of the Pakaraima range and, at 2,762 meters, is Guyana's tallest peak.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":0" />

Much of the interior highlands consist of grassland.<ref name=":0" /> The largest expanse of grassland, the Rupununi Savannah, covers about 15,000 square kilometers in southern Guyana.<ref name=":0" /> This savannah also extends far into Venezuela and Brazil.<ref name=":0" /> The part in Guyana is split into northern and southern regions by the Kanuku Mountains.<ref name=":0" /> The sparse grasses of the savannah in general support only grazing, although Amerindian groups cultivate a few areas along the [[Rupununi River]] and in the foothills of the Kanuku Mountains.<ref name=":0" />