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The Land Suriname’s Tirio tribe point to their village on the first map made of their rain forest territory. 1 (Opposite) A Djuka man fishes with a bow and arrow in the waters of Granholosoela Falls, located above Poketi. (Right) Members of

ON THE NORTHEASTERN coast of South America, nestled between Guyana to the west, French Guiana to the east, and Brazil to the south, sits a little-known country called the Republic of Suriname. It is a small nation, covering slightly more area than the state of Georgia. The population of Suriname is slightly smaller than that of Denver, Colorado. Suriname is unique in several respects. It developed as a Dutch colony on a continent dominated by Spanish and Portuguese colonial influence. It is also the youngest nation in South America, having gained independence as recently as 1975. And despite its small size, Suriname has one of the world’s largest nature preserves, the Central Suriname Nature Reserve. Suriname is made up primarily of tropical rain forests, coastal swamp- land, a few mountain ranges, and some gradually sloping hills. The country’s limited coastal area is fairly level.

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