Geography of Guinea-Bissau
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This article describes the geography of Guinea-Bissau.
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[edit] Climate
The climate in Guinea-Bissau is tropical. This means it is generally hot and humid. It has a monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds and a dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds.[1]
[edit] Terrain and ecology
The terrain of Guinea-Bissau is mostly low coastal plain rising to Guinean forest-savanna mosaic in the east. [1]
The lowest point on Guinea-Bissau is at sea level at the Atlantic Ocean[1] . The highest point on Guinea-Bissau is 300 metres above sea level at an unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country [1] .
Natural resources found in Guinea-Bissau include fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone and unexploited deposits of petroleum[1] . 8.31% of the land is arable and 250 square kilometres is irrigated[1]. Natural hazards include a hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze that may reduce visibility during the dry season and brush fires [1]. Severe environmental issues include deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing and overfishing [1].
Near the Senegal border there have been historic sightings of the Painted Hunting Dog, Lycaon pictus, but that endangered canid may now be extirpated in that locale.[2]
[edit] Bissagos Islands
[edit] Information from the CIA World Factbook
- Location
- Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal
- Geographic coordinates
- 12°00′N 15°00′W / 12°N 15°W
- Map references
- Africa
- Area
-
- Total: 36,120 km²
- Land: 28,000 km²
- Water: 8,120 km²
- Area—comparative
- Slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut
- Land boundaries
-
- Total: 724 km
- Border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km
- Coastline
- 350 km
- Maritime claims
-
- Exclusive economic zone: 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi)
- Territorial sea: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi)
- Terrain
- Mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east
- Elevation extremes
-
- Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
- Highest point: Unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m
- Natural resources
- Fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum
- Land use
-
- Arable land: 11%
- Permanent crops: 1%
- Permanent pastures: 38%
- Forests and woodland: 38%
- Other: 12% (1993 est.)
- Irrigated land
- 17 km² (1993 est.)
- Natural hazards
- Hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires
- Environment—current issues
- Deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing
- Environment—international agreements
-
- Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Wetlands
- Signed, but not ratified: None of the selected agreements[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
[edit] See also
[edit] Line notes
[edit] References
- C. Michael Hogan. 2009. Painted Hunting Dog: Lycaon pictus, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
- U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. [12]
