GUYANE - Geography and history
As a region, French Guiana is composed of a single département divided into two districts (Cayenne and Saint-Laurent) and 21 municipalities. With a surface area of 84 000 km2 between the second and fifth parallels north, it is France's largest region. Situated between Brazil and Suriname in the Guyana Highlands, French Guiana's natural frontiers are the Maroni River to the west, the Oyapock River to the east, the Tumuc-Humac Mountains to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the north.
With the exception of the alluvial coastal strip, the region comprises a series of plateaux rising towards the interior to a peak of 851 m.
Nearly the whole region is covered by dense tropical rain forest. The only means of access to the interior of the country are the rivers, which form a dense network of water courses. However, the region's stepped relief gives rise to rapids which hinder navigation.
French Guiana has a tropical climate with four seasons: the dry season from August to November, the little rainy season from December to February, the short summer in March and the rainy season proper from April to July. The temperature varies little with a daily average of 27°C. The humidity is very high, ranging between 70 and 90%.
A young region, French Guiana has to overcome its distance from Europe and its almost total isolation, having few means of communication with its neighbours. In 2000 the road network of the region had 431 km of national roads, and no motorway, nor railways.
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