Guyana: Geography and Physical Environment
Guyana lies between about 1° and 9° north latitude and 57° and 62° west longitude, on the north-eastern shoulder of South America. The Atlantic Ocean is to the north, Venezuela to the west, Brazil to the south and south-west, and Suriname to the east. Its area is roughly 214,970 km². This domain tests whether you can connect those location facts to landforms, rivers, climate and resources.
The four natural regions
- Low Coastal Plain: a narrow belt of clay and pegasse soils, much of it below high-tide level, protected by sea defences and drained by kokers, canals and pumps. Most of the population and farmland are here.
- Hilly Sand and Clay (White Sand) region: sandy soils and forests inland of the coast; bauxite was mined at Linden.
- Highland region: the Pakaraima Mountains, including Mount Roraima (about 2,810 m) and Kaieteur Falls on the Potaro River, a single drop of about 226 m.
- Interior savannahs: the Rupununi grasslands, used for cattle rearing and home to many Indigenous communities.
Rivers and climate
- The Essequibo is the longest river (about 1,010 km); the Cuyuni and Mazaruni join it from the west. The Demerara and Berbice flow north to the Atlantic, and the Corentyne forms part of the Suriname border.
- The climate is tropical, with temperatures near 27 °C, north-east trade winds and two wet seasons (May–June and December–January).
Worked example
In which natural region would you expect to find (a) thick pegasse soil, (b) Kaieteur Falls, (c) open grassland with cattle? Reasoning: pegasse is a swamp soil of the flat coastal belt, so (a) is the Low Coastal Plain. Kaieteur is on the Potaro in the Pakaraima Mountains, so (b) is the Highland region. Open cattle country is the Rupununi, so (c) is the Interior savannahs.
Traps that cost marks
- Confusing the Essequibo with the Demerara; only the Essequibo carries the Cuyuni and Mazaruni.
- Claiming Mount Roraima lies wholly in Guyana - it is shared with Venezuela and Brazil.
- Placing Georgetown in the highlands instead of the coastal plain.
- Forgetting that the coast lies below high-tide level and depends on sea defences and drainage.