Geography of Guinea

A map showing Guinea's cities and administrative divisions.

Guinea is a country on the coast of West Africa and is bordered by Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

Guinea is divided into four geographic regions: A lowland belt running north to south behind the coast (Lower Guinea), which is part of the Guinean forest-savanna mosaic ecoregion; the pastoral Fouta Djallon highlands (Middle Guinea); the northern savanna (Upper Guinea); and a southeastern rain-forest region (Forest Guinea).

Location

Guinea is in western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone. Its geographic coordinates are 11°00′N 10°00′W. Guinea's total area is 245,857 km², comprising 245,857 km² of land and 0 km² of water.

Guinea's land boundaries span a total of 3,399 km: with Côte d'Ivoire 610 km, Guinea-Bissau 386 km, Liberia 563 km, Mali 858 km, Senegal 330 km, and Sierra Leone 652 km. It has a 320-km coastline, and claims an exclusive economic zone of 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi), with a territorial sea of 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi).

Climate

Guinea's topography.

The coastal region of Guinea and most of the inland have a tropical climate, with a monsoonal-type rainy season lasting from April to November, relatively high and uniform temperatures, southwesterly winds, and high humidity.

The capital Conakry's year-round average high is 29 °C (84.2 °F), and the low is 23 °C (73.4 °F). Conakry's average annual rainfall is 4,300 mm (169.3 in). Sahelian Upper Guinea has a shorter rainy season and greater daily temperature variations. There is a dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds.

Rivers and water

Further information: List of rivers of Guinea

The Niger River, the Gambia River, and the Senegal River are among the 22 West African rivers that have their origins in Guinea.

Resources and environment

The country's natural resources include bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower, and fish. It has 2% arable land but no permanent cropland; 22% of its area is permanent pasture, and 59% is forest or woodland as of 1993. 930 km² (1993 est.) of land is irrigated.

Environmental issues

Current environmental issues in Guinea include: deforestation; inadequate supplies of potable water; desertification; soil contamination and erosion; and overfishing and overpopulation in forest regions.

Guinea is party to the following international environmental agreements: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands.

Terrain

Its terrain is generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior. The country's lowest point is the Atlantic Ocean (0 m), and highest is Mont Nimba (5748ft).

This is a list of the extreme points of Guinea, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.

• Northernmost point – the northern section of the border with Senegal, Boké Region*.
• Easternmost point – the confluence of the Gben river and the Férédougouba river on the border with Cote d'Ivoire, Nzérékoré Region.
• Southernmost point – unnamed location on the border with Liberia immediately south of the village of Gonon, Nzérékoré Region.
• Westernmost point – Ile du Noufrage, Boké Region.
• Westernmost point (mainland) – the point at which the border with Guinea-Bissau enters the Rio Compony estuary.

• *Note: Guinea does not have a northern-most point, this section of the border being formed by a straight latitudinal line

See also

• Administrative divisions of Guinea