French Guiana

French Guiana: population, cities

Population

According to Countryaah website, population of French Guiana is around 268,500. Most of the people live in the coastal regions - especially in the capital Cayenne and in and around the Kourou space center.

Ethnic composition

Around 70% are Creoles, 10% Europeans, 8% Brazilians, 8% Asians and 4% Indians.

Religious affiliation

The vast majority of the population is Roman Catholic, there are also natural religions and Jews as small minorities.

National languages

French

Capital, other cities and Kourou

Cayenne

The capital of French Guiana is Cayenne with a population of around 63,000

Port Gentil

Port Gentil with around 57,000 residents should also be mentioned.

Kourou

A relatively detailed description of the "European" Kourou space center can be found here.

French Guiana: geography

Defined by DigoPaul, the country of French Guiana is located on the northeast coast of South America and borders on Brazil to the south, Guyana to the west, French Guiana to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the north. The country is a department and region of France. It is thus represented in the European Union by France.

Area, limits of coastline

French Guiana covers a total area of 86,504 km².

Over 90% of the country is covered by dense rainforest and almost deserted.

Landscapes

The lowland, which is up to 5 m below sea level, made up of alluvial land, is approx. 70 kilometers wide on the coast and is secured against flooding with the help of dams.

The adjacent part of the country is a flat hill country that rises up to 150 m high. The highlands take up around two thirds of the land area.

Gold production

The legal and illegal gold production has meanwhile become the most important economic factor alongside the Kourou space center. Between 15,000 and 30,000 people should now work here.

Since mercury is used in gold processing, large parts of the rivers and streams are contaminated with this toxic metal.

Borders

French Guiana shares a border with a total of two states. These are the limits to:

• Brazil with a length of around 730 km, so Brazil has a 730 km long border with the EU. An important border river is the 370 km long Rio Oiapoque, which flows into the Atlantic.
• Suriname with a length of around 510 km.

Coastline

French Guiana has a coastline to the Atlantic with a length of around 380 km. The marshy coastal plain is not very wide (15 to 48 km).

Tidal range

In Cayenne, the mean tidal range of the Atlantic averages around 1.5 m.

For detailed explanations of ebb and flow, see Tides, Ebb and Flow.

Compare

The world's highest tidal range can be found in the Bay of Fundy in Canada, where it is up to 16 m, with spring tide even over 20 m. The Bay of Fun-dy is located on the Atlantic between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, which is called Nova Scotia in German and whose capital is Halifax.

On the German North Sea coast it varies between 1 m and 3 m.

In the western Baltic Sea, on the other hand, the tidal range is only 0.3 m, while it is barely noticeable in the eastern Baltic Sea.

Longitude and latitude

French Guiana covers the following latitude (abbreviation Δφ) and longitude (abbreviation Δλ):

You can find detailed information on this subject under: Geographical longitude and latitude.

Legal time

For Cayenne, the following value applies to Central European Time (CET). A minus sign means that it is earlier there and a plus sign that it is later than after CET:

More detailed explanations of the time can be found under: Time zones, time.

Highest point of the sun in Cayenne

Cayenne lies at a north latitude of around φ = 5 °.

If the sun, or its pixel, is exactly above the city, i.e. at around 05 ° N, the sun will be exactly vertically above the city at noon. This happens exactly twice a year, roughly 18 days after March 21st and 18 days before September 21st (for details see position of the sun).

Attention

If the image point of the sun (declination) is north of the latitude of Cayenne, i.e. around 5 ° N, the sun is not in the south at noon, as in our latitudes, but in the north. The sun moves from east to north to west, where, like us, it sets.

mountains

Mont Bellevue de Inini

The highest mountain in the country is Mont Bellevue de Inini. It reaches a height of 850 m.

Tumuc-Humuc Mountains

Other high mountains are the Tumuc-Humuc Mountains on the Brazilian border in the south.

Rivers

Fleuve Marouini

The longest river in the country is the Fleuve Marouini with a length of around 725 km.

Other rivers in the country that all flow towards the Atlantic:

• Fleuve Approuague
• Fleuve Sinnamary
• Fleuve Oyapock
• Mana
• Tampoc
• Riviere Camopi

Islands

Iles du Salut Group

French Guiana has several small islands, such as the Iles du Salut Group with the islands:

Ile du Diable, Ile Royale and Ile Saint-Joseph.

Furthermore, the Pere and Mere island groups, the Malingre and the Remire islands and the two Connectables.

The Atlantic

French Guyana borders the Atlantic

Ocean over a length of around 380 km. With an area of around 106 million km², the Atlantic Ocean (Atlantic) is the second largest ocean in the world after the Pacific. It separates America from Europe and Africa. At 9,220 m, it has its deepest point in the Milwaukee Deep - part of the Puerto Rico Trench. Its salt content is on average 3.54% (g/l). Its water volume is around 355 million km³.

Coming from the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf Stream crosses the Atlantic to the coast of Norway and is largely responsible for the climate in Western and Northern Europe.

The Atlantic includes numerous so-called marginal seas - e.g. the American Mediterranean. In addition, the Atlantic - especially in seafaring - is divided into the North Atlantic and South Atlantic. The Strait of Gibralta is certainly a very well-known connection between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, where it separates Europe (Gibralta/Great Britain) from Africa (Morocco). The Panama Canal connects the Pacific with the Atlantic for around 82 km. The Atlantic and Pacific meet at the legendary Cape Horn on the southern tip of the American continent.