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Suriname

Quick Facts: The Geography of Suriname

Location: northern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean,

Terrain: mostly rolling hills; narrow coastal plain with swamps. Elevation extremes: lowest point: unnamed location in the coastal plain—7 feet (2 meters) below sea level. highest point: Juliana Top—4,035 feet (1,230 meters). Natural hazards: seasonal flooding during the rainy season between December and April.

between French Guiana and Guyana. Area: slightly larger than the U.S. state of Georgia. total: 63,039 square miles (163,270 sq km). land: 62,344 square miles (161,470 sq km). water: 695 square miles (1,800 sq km) Borders: Brazil, 371 miles (597 km); French Guiana, 317 miles (510 km); Guyana, 373 miles (600 km). Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds.

Source: CIA World Factbook 2015.

South of this area is the Old Coastal Plain. The Old Coastal Plain often rises as high as 40 feet (12 meters) above sea level. This plain covers about 1,550 square miles (4,013 sq km). It is primarily swamps, sand ridges, and clay flats. Inland from the Old Coastal Plain is the Zanderij formation, in the central region. This section of Suriname, which is 40 miles (64 km) wide, is made up of rolling hills that are covered by the dense plant life of the tropi- cal rain forest. Along the Zanderij formation, swamps and savanna can also be found. The savanna is a flat grassland dotted occasionally with trees. The land that makes up the central region was formed upon white sand