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Geography of Guinea:
Map of Guinea

Satellite image of Guinea, generated from raster graphics data supplied
by The Map Library.
Guinea is located on the Atlantic Coast of West Africa and is bordered
by Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, and Sierra
Leone. The country is divided into four geographic regions: A narrow coastal
belt (Lower Guinea); the pastoral Fouta Djallon highlands (Middle Guinea);
the northern savanna (Upper Guinea); and a southeastern rain-forest region
(Forest Guinea). The Niger, Gambia, and Senegal Rivers are among the 22
West African rivers that have their origins in Guinea.
The coastal region of Guinea and most of the inland have a tropical climate,
with a rainy season lasting from April to November, relatively high and
uniform temperatures, and high humidity. Conakry's year-round average
high is 29 °C (85 °F), and the low is 23 °C (74 °F); its
average annual rainfall is 4.3 metres (169 inches). Sahelian Upper Guinea
has a shorter rainy season and greater daily temperature variations.
Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between
Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone
Geographic coordinates: 11°00?N 10°00?W
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 245,857 km²
land: 245,857 km²
water: 0 km²
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Oregon
Land boundaries:
" total:
3,399 km
" border countries:
Côte d'Ivoire 610 km, Guinea-Bissau 386 km, Liberia 563 km, Mali
858 km, Senegal 330 km, Sierra Leone 652 km
Coastline: 320 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles (370 km)
territorial sea: 12 nautical miles (22 km)
Climate: generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to
November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with
northeasterly harmattan winds
Terrain: generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m
Natural resources: bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower,
fish
Land use:
arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 22%
forests and woodland: 59%
other: 17% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 930 km² (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility
during dry season
Environment - current issues: deforestation; inadequate supplies of potable
water; desertification; soil contamination and erosion; overfishing, overpopulation
in forest region
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
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