The Guayana Region is an administrative region of eastern Venezuela .
61-579: The Sinnamary ( French pronunciation: [sinamaʁi] ) is a river in French Guiana . It is 290 km (180 mi) long. It rises in the center of the country, flowing north until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean near the town of Sinnamary . Its longest tributary is the Koursibo . The Petit-Saut Dam was built near Petit-Saut between 1989 and 1994. This article related to
122-623: A land area of 83,534 km (32,253 sq mi). As of January 2024, it is home to approximately 295,385 people. French Guiana is the second-largest region in France, being approximately one-seventh the size of Metropolitan France, and the largest outermost region within the European Union . It has a very low population density, with only 3.6 inhabitants per square kilometre (9.3/sq mi). About half of its residents live in its capital, Cayenne. Approximately 98.9% of French Guiana
183-650: A slave rebellion in the colony of Saint-Domingue . However, the 1794 decree was only implemented in Saint-Domingue, Guadeloupe and French Guiana, while the colonies of Senegal , Mauritius , Réunion , Martinique and French India resisted the imposition of these laws. Bill Marshall, Professor of Comparative Cultural Studies at the University of Stirling , wrote of French Guiana's origins: The first French effort to colonize Guiana, in 1763, utterly failed, as settlers were subject to high mortality given
244-508: A Venezuelan mining inspector found one of the richest iron ore deposits near the Orinoco delta, south of the city of San Felix on a mountain named El Florero . Full-scale mining of the ore deposits began after World War II, by a conglomerate of Venezuelan firms and US steel companies. At the start in the early 1950s, about 10,000 tons of ore-bearing soil was mined per day. Los Pijiguaos , bauxite deposit and associated mining development, on
305-814: A durable presence until colonists founded Cayenne in 1643. Guiana was developed as a slave society , where planters imported Africans as enslaved labourers on large sugar and other plantations. The system of slavery in French Guiana continued until the French Revolution , when the National Convention voted to abolish the French slave trade and slavery in France's overseas colonies in February 1794, months after enslaved Haitians had started
366-572: A high level of biodiversity of both flora and fauna . This is due to the presence of old-growth forests (i.e., ancient/primary forests), which are biodiversity hotspots . The rainforests of French Guiana provide shelter for many species during dry periods and terrestrial glaciation. These forests are protected by a national park (the Guiana Amazonian Park ), seven additional nature reserves , and 17 protected sites. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and
427-459: A penal colony, officials sometimes used convicts to catch butterflies. The sentences of the convicts were often long, and the prospect of employment very weak, so the convicts caught butterflies to sell in the international market, both for scientific purposes as well as general collecting. A border dispute with Brazil arose in the late 19th century over a vast area of jungle, resulting in the short-lived, pro-French, independent state of Counani in
488-529: A river in French Guiana is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . French Guiana French Guiana is an overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies . Bordered by Suriname to the west and Brazil to the east and south, French Guiana covers a total area of 84,000 km (32,000 sq mi) and
549-590: Is a chronic issue in the remote interior rain forest of French Guiana. The region still faces such problems as illegal immigration, poorer infrastructure than mainland France, higher costs of living, higher levels of crime and more common social unrest. In 1964, French president Charles de Gaulle decided to construct a space-travel base in French Guiana. It was intended to replace the Sahara base in Algeria and stimulate economic growth in French Guiana. The department
610-619: Is compatible with requirements for environmental protection. The coastal environment along the RN1 has historically experienced the most changes, but development is occurring locally along the RN2 , and also in western French Guiana due to gold mining. 5,500 plant species have been recorded, including more than a thousand trees, along with 700 species of birds, 177 species of mammals, over 500 species of fish including 45% of which are endemic and 109 species of amphibians . French Guiana's high biodiversity
671-639: Is covered by forests, much of it primeval rainforest . The Guiana Amazonian Park , the largest national park in the EU covers 41% of French Guiana's territory. Since December 2015, both the region and department have been ruled by a single assembly within the framework of a single territorial collectivity , the French Guiana Territorial Collectivity. This assembly, the French Guiana Assembly , replaced
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#1732769369812732-526: Is hot and oppressively humid all year round. During most of the year, rainfall across the country is heavy due to the presence of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and its powerful thunderstorm cells. In most parts of French Guiana, rainfall is always heavy especially from December to July – typically over 330 millimetres or 13 inches can be expected each month during this period throughout the department. Between August and November,
793-505: Is one of the largest worldwide for the leatherback turtle . French Guiana has some of the poorest soils in the world. The soil is low in nutrients (e.g., nitrogen , potassium ) and organic matter . Soil acidity is another cause of the poor soils, and it requires farmers to add lime to their fields. The soil characteristics have led to the use of slash and burn agriculture. The resulting ashes elevate soil pH (i.e., lower soil acidity), and contribute minerals and other nutrients to
854-485: Is similar to that of other regions with tropical rainforests, such as the Brazilian Amazon, Borneo and Sumatra . Environmental threats include habitat fragmentation from roads, which remains very limited compared to other forests of South America; immediate and deferred impacts of EDF 's Petit-Saut Dam ; gold mining ; poor control of hunting and poaching , facilitated by the creation of many tracks; and
915-523: Is still under the sovereignty of a European state. The border between French Guiana and Brazil is the longest land border that France shares with another country, as well as one of only two borders which France shares with non-European states, the other being the border with Suriname in the west. According to the Oxford English Dictionary , the name "Guyana" is an indigenous term meaning "land of many waters". The addition of
976-565: Is the euro . The country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for French Guiana is .gf , but .fr is generally used instead. In 2019, the GDP of French Guiana at market exchange rates was US$ 4.93 billion (€4.41 billion), ranking as the 2nd largest economy in the Guianas after Guyana (which discovered large oil fields in 2015 and 2018), and the 12th largest in South America. From
1037-520: Is the Marahuaca hill with its 3,840 m. Everything about the relief can be seen in greater detail in each of the states that make up Guyana and will be described separately in each of them. Depending on the altitude, a diversity of climates can be found, from torrid (hot) on the banks of the Orinoco, through a very mild (temperate) climate in La Gran Sabana , to the cool climate of the peaks of
1098-540: The COVID-19 recession in metropolitan France (-7.9% in 2020). French Guiana is heavily dependent on mainland France for subsidies, trade, and goods. The main traditional industries are fishing (accounting for 5% of exports in 2012), gold mining (accounting for 32% of exports in 2012) and timber (accounting for 1% of exports in 2012). In addition, the Guiana Space Centre has played a significant role in
1159-632: The European Union (EU) have recommended special efforts to protect these areas. Following the Grenelle Environment Round Table of 2007, the Grenelle Law II was proposed in 2009, under law number 2010–788. Article 49 of the law proposed the creation of a single organization responsible for environmental conservation in French Guiana. Article 64 proposes a "departmental plan of mining orientation" for French Guiana, which would promote mining (specifically of gold) that
1220-521: The GDP per capita of French Guiana at market exchange rates, not at PPP , was US$ 17,375 (€15,521), only 42.3% of metropolitan France 's average GDP per capita that year, and 50.3% of the metropolitan French regions outside the Paris Region . French Guiana was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, leading to a recession of -2.7% that year according to provisional estimates, moderate compared to
1281-500: The Hmong communities settled in French Guiana in the 1970s, both destined to the local market. A thriving rice production, developed on polders near Mana from the early 1980s to the late 2000s, has almost completely disappeared since 2011 due to marine erosion and new EU plant health rules which forbid the use of many pesticides and fertilizers. Tourism, especially eco-tourism , is growing. Unemployment has been persistently high in
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#17327693698121342-646: The James Webb Space Telescope into space. The Guianese General Council officially adopted a departmental flag in 2010. In a referendum that same year, French Guiana voted against becoming an autonomous overseas collectivity . In a second referendum , transition to a " single territorial collectivity " under Article 73 of the Constitution was approved. On 20 March 2017, French Guianese workers began going on strike and demonstrating for more resources and infrastructure . 28 March 2017
1403-899: The Roraima (2810 msnm ), the Kukenán (2680 masl) and the Auyantepui (2535 masl) all within El Parque Nacional De Canaima . The gold mine at El Callao (Venezuela), started in 1871, was for a time one of the richest in the world, and the goldfields as a whole saw over a million ounces exported between 1860 and 1883. The gold mining was dominated by immigrants from the British Isles and the British West Indies, giving an appearance of almost creating an English colony on Venezuelan territory. In 1926,
1464-582: The tepuy es and the region's mountain ranges. Due to its immense extension, the vegetation of the Guiana Region, with the exception of that generated by the eternal snows of the Andes and the dunes of Falcon, is a sample of all the vegetation that covers the Venezuelan soil, effectively through its wide geography, There is halophytic vegetation, which is typical of mangroves, herbaceous vegetation of
1525-513: The 16th century in conjunction with its settlement of some Caribbean islands, such as Guadeloupe and Saint-Domingue . Prior to European colonization , the territory was originally inhabited by Native Americans , most speaking the Arawak language , of the Arawakan language family. The people identified as Lokono . The first French establishment is recorded in 1503, but France did not establish
1586-534: The 1900s and 1910s, it suffered from a bad reputation due to its association with penal colonies and bad sanitary conditions ( yellow fever and malaria in particular). Population started to grow tremendously from the 1950s onwards with the improvement of sanitary conditions (yellow fever and malaria eradication campaigns started in 1949) and the establishment of the Guiana Space Centre in 1964. Population growth has been fueled both by high birth rates and large arrivals of immigrants (from metropolitan France , to man
1647-572: The 1960s to the 2000s, French Guiana experienced strong economic growth, fueled by the development of France's Guiana Space Centre (established in French Guiana in 1964 as the independence of Algeria in 1962 led to the closure of France's space center in the Algerian Sahara) and by high population growth which stimulated domestic consumption. French Guiana's economy did not suffer from the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 :
1708-512: The 1970s and 80s, who were fleeing displacement after the communist takeover of Laos by Pathet Lao in 1975. In the late 1980s, more than 10,000 Surinamese refugees, mostly Maroons , arrived in French Guiana, fleeing the Surinamese Civil War . More recently, French Guiana has received large numbers of Brazilian and Haitian economic migrants . Illegal and ecologically destructive gold mining by Brazilian garimpeiros
1769-527: The 2010s. French Guiana's population reached 295,385 in 2024 (Jan. estimate), more than 10 times the population it had in 1954. There are three metropolitan areas (as defined by INSEE ) in French Guiana. These are Cayenne , which covers 6 communes (Cayenne, Remire-Montjoly , Matoury , Macouria , Montsinéry-Tonnegrande , and Roura ), Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni , made up of the namesake commune, and Kourou , which covers 2 communes (Kourou and Sinnamary ). The population of these three metropolitan areas at
1830-585: The 2021 census was the following: Guayana Region In the 1970s, after the process of forming the Political-Administrative Regions through CORDIPLAN [ es ] in the government of Rafael Caldera , the Region of Guyana was formed. It was originally composed of Bolívar State and Delta Amacuro State (at that time it had the status of a Federal Territory). The Amazonas State (called Territorio Federal Amazonas )
1891-468: The GDP grew by an average of +3.4% per year in real terms from 2002 to 2012, slightly faster than the rapidly growing population, which allowed French Guiana to catch up marginally with the rest of France in terms of standards of living. The GDP per capita rose from 48.0% of metropolitan France 's level in 2000 to 48.5% of metropolitan France in 2012. Since 2013, however, French Guiana's economic growth has been uneven, and more subdued. From 2013 to 2019,
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1952-794: The Pijiguaos Plateau, in western Bolívar state, Venezuela. Discovered in 1974, this large, high-quality, laterite-type deposit underlies some 2,000 square miles (5,200 km ) and is located approximately 25 miles (40 km) east of the Orinoco River. In the area of the Macizo Guayanés, many resources are extracted, which come mainly from the mines and deposits of the Cuadrilátero Minero Bolivar. The region also has vast forest reserves, and extensive rivers, as Orinoco and Caroni, that provide much of
2013-525: The adjective "French" in most languages other than French is rooted in colonial times, when five such colonies ( The Guianas ) had been named along the coast, subject to differing powers: namely (from west to east) Spanish Guiana (now Guayana Region in Venezuela), British Guiana (now Guyana ), Dutch Guiana (now Suriname ), French Guiana, and Portuguese Guiana (now Amapá in Brazil). French Guiana and
2074-721: The biggest towns and cities include: The relief of the Guayana Region is very varied, including plains and savannahs, with heights ranging from 100 to 500 m. The Gran Sabana is a plain with an average altitude of 1,000 m. and is home to the tepuis, extraordinary geological formations, including the 2.810 m Roraima, the Auyantepui, with the highest waterfall in the world; the Salto Ángel , with its almost one thousand meters of vertical drop; and several sierras or mountain ranges which reach considerable peaks and whose culminating point
2135-404: The capital of Amazonas, Puerto Ayacucho. As far as the state of Delta Amacuro, south of the Orinoco, is concerned, there is no population with more than a thousand inhabitants. But there are small towns like El Triunfo, which is 22 km from Ciudad Guayana, and Piacoa a little over 50 km. The region comprises, according to Venezuelan law, four of the federal States of Venezuela : Some of
2196-466: The coast and along the Maroni River . Sugar and bananas were traditionally two of the main cash crops grown for export but have almost completely disappeared. Today they have been replaced by livestock raising (essentially beef cattle and pigs) in the coastal savannas between Cayenne and the second-largest town, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni , and market gardening (fruits and vegetables) developed by
2257-535: The coast: the three Salvation's Islands which include Devil's Island , and the isolated Îles du Connétable bird sanctuary further along the coast towards Brazil. The Petit-Saut Dam , a hydroelectric dam in the north of French Guiana forms an artificial lake and provides hydroelectricity . There are many rivers in French Guiana, including the Waki River . As of 2007 , the Amazonian forest , located in
2318-457: The disputed territory. There was some fighting among settlers. The dispute was resolved largely in favour of Brazil by the arbitration of the Swiss government. The territory of Inini consisted of most of the interior of French Guiana when it was created in 1930. In 1936, Félix Éboué from Cayenne became the first black man to serve as governor in a French colony. During World War II and
2379-723: The eastern half experiences a warm dry season with rainfall below 100 millimetres or 3.94 inches and average high temperatures above 30 °C (86 °F) occurring in September and October, causing eastern French Guiana to be classified as a tropical monsoon climate ( Köppen Am ); Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni in the west has a tropical rainforest climate ( Af ). French Guiana is home to many different ecosystems : tropical rainforests , coastal mangroves , savannahs , inselbergs and many types of wetlands . It lies within three ecoregions: Guayanan Highlands moist forests , Guianan moist forests , and Guianan mangroves . French Guiana has
2440-431: The economy grew by an average of only +1.2% per year in real terms. French Guiana experienced a recession of -0.8% in 2014, and social unrest in 2017 led to almost no economic growth that year. Economic growth recovered at +3.0% in 2018, but was again almost null (+0.2%) in 2019. As a result, the GDP per capita has remained stagnant in nominal terms since 2013, and has declined relative to metropolitan France's. In 2019,
2501-415: The electricity consumed in the country, as well as great tourism potential with places like Canaima National Park which includes the highest waterfall in the world (Angel Falls) and is rich in heavy oil that is concentrated in the northern area of Bolivar State. In the region of Guayana, due to its great hydroelectric potential, it has mining wealth: that is to say, abundance of iron ore and bauxite, one of
Sinnamary (river) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2562-466: The entire southern part of the state of Delta Amacuro corresponds to it. The main cities of the region are Ciudad Guayana, with more than half a million inhabitants and which is made up of Puerto Ordaz and San Félix ; the capital of the State of Bolívar, Ciudad Bolívar , Upata, Caicara del Orinoco, Tumeremo, Guasipati, El Callao, El Manteco, Santa Elena de Uairén, all of these in the State of Bolívar and
2623-571: The fall of France to German forces, French Guiana became part of Vichy France . Guiana officially rallied to Free France on 16 March 1943. It abandoned its colony status and once again became a French department on 19 March 1946. Following the French withdrawal from Vietnam in the 1950s and subsequent war between the Viet Cong and the United States, France helped resettle several hundred Hmong refugees from Laos to French Guiana during
2684-548: The former regional and departmental council , which were dissolved. The French Guiana Assembly is in charge of regional and departmental government. Its president is Gabriel Serville . Fully integrated in the French Republic since 1946, French Guiana is a part of the European Union, and its official currency is the euro . A large part of French Guiana's economy depends on jobs and businesses associated with
2745-528: The introduction of all-terrain vehicles . Logging remains moderate due to the lack of roads, difficult climate, and difficult terrain. The Forest Code of French Guiana was modified by ordinance on 28 July 2005. Logging concessions or free transfers are sometimes granted by local authorities to persons traditionally deriving their livelihood from the forest. The beaches of the Amana Nature Reserve are an exceptional marine turtle nesting site. This
2806-456: The last few decades, standing between 17% and 24%. In recent years, the unemployment rate has declined from a peak of 23.0% in 2016 to 19.3% in 2019. French Guiana experienced a long period of demographic stagnation during the days of the Cayenne and Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni penal colonies (19th century and first half of the 20th century), when, with the exception of a brief gold rush in
2867-534: The late nineteenth century, France began requiring forced residencies by prisoners who survived their hard labour. A Portuguese-British naval squadron took French Guiana for the Portuguese Empire in 1809. It was returned to France with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1814. Though Portugal returned the region to France, it kept a military presence until 1817. After French Guiana was established as
2928-520: The local economy since it was established in Kourou in 1964: it accounted directly and indirectly for 16% of French Guiana's GDP in 2002 (down from 26% in 1994, as the French Guianese economy is becoming increasingly diversified). The Guiana Space Centre employed 1,659 people in 2012. There is very little manufacturing. Agriculture is largely undeveloped and is mainly confined to the area near
2989-415: The mid-19th century, the French government transported approximately 56,000 prisoners to Devil's Island . Fewer than 10% survived their sentence. Île du Diable (Devil's Island) was the site of a small prison facility, part of a larger penal system by the same name, which consisted of prisons on three islands and three larger prisons on the mainland. This was operated from 1852 to 1953. In addition, in
3050-597: The modest peaks of the Tumuc-Humac mountains along the Brazilian frontier. French Guiana's highest peak is Bellevue de l'Inini in Maripasoula (851 m, 2,792 ft). Other mountains include Mont Itoupé (826 m, 2,710 ft), Cottica Mountain (744 m, 2,441 ft), Pic Coudreau (711 m, 2,333 ft), and Kaw Mountain (337 m, 1,106 ft). Several small islands are found off
3111-501: The most remote part of the department, is protected as the Guiana Amazonian Park , one of the ten national parks of France . The territory of the park covers some 33,900 km (13,090 sq mi) upon the communes of Camopi , Maripasoula , Papaïchton , Saint-Élie and Saül . French Guiana has an equatorial climate predominant. Located within six degrees of the Equator and rising only to modest elevations, French Guiana
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#17327693698123172-402: The numerous tropical diseases and harsh climate: all but 2,000 of the initial 12,000 settlers died. After France ceded Louisiana to the United States in 1804, it developed Guiana as a penal colony , establishing a network of camps and penitentiaries along the coast where prisoners from metropolitan France were sentenced to forced labour . During operations as a penal colony beginning in
3233-538: The presence of the Guiana Space Centre , now the European Space Agency 's primary launch site near the equator. As elsewhere in France, the official language is standard French, but each ethnic community has its own language, of which French Guianese Creole , a French-based creole language , is the most widely spoken. French Guiana is the only territory on the continental mainland of the Americas that
3294-625: The public administrations and the space center, as well as from neighboring countries, in particular Suriname and Brazil ). Arrivals of Surinamese refugees reached record levels in the 1980s during the Surinamese Interior War , resulting in the highest population growth rate in French Guiana's history, recorded between the 1982 and 1990 censuses (+5.8% per year). In the 21st century, the birth rate has remained high, and new arrivals of migrants seeking asylum (in particular from Haiti ) have kept population growth above 2% per year in
3355-487: The savannahs, xerophytic vegetation which is that of the thorn or xerophytic forest, the hydrophilic vegetation of the forests, and that of the cloud forest on the mountain slopes. The region of the Guiana Shield is mainly composed of mountainous formations called Tepuy (plural "tepuis"), which can be traced back more than 2000 million years, and are the oldest formations on the planet. Among these formations are
3416-455: The soil. Sites of Terra preta ( anthropogenic soils) have been discovered in French Guiana, particularly near the border with Brazil. Research is being actively pursued in multiple fields to determine how these enriched soils were historically created, and how this can be done in modern times. As a part of France, French Guiana is part of the European Union and the Eurozone ; its currency
3477-409: The two larger countries to the north and west, Guyana and Suriname, are still often collectively referred to as "the Guianas" and constitute one large landmass known as the Guiana Shield . French Guiana was originally inhabited by indigenous people : Kalina , Lokono (part of the Arawak grouping), Galibi , Palikur , Teko , Wayampi and Wayana . The French attempted to create a colony there in
3538-620: Was considered suitable for the purpose because it is near the equator and has extensive access to the ocean as a buffer zone. The Guiana Space Centre , located a short distance along the coast from Kourou , has grown considerably since the initial launches of the Véronique rockets. It is now part of the European space industry and has had commercial success with such launches as the Ariane 4 , Ariane 5 and Ariane flight VA256 which launched
3599-509: Was known as Spanish Guiana . It borders the independent nations of Guyana (formerly British Guiana ) and Brazil . Geologically it is part of the Guiana Shield , and is also known as the Venezuelan Guayana . The higher elevation Guayana Highlands and its tepuis (mesas) are in the southwestern section. Almost the entirety of this immense region is formed by the states of Amazonas and Bolívar, but we must also consider that
3660-469: Was the day of the largest demonstration ever held in French Guiana. French Guiana has been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak , with more than 1% of French Guianese testing positive by the end of June 2020. French Guiana lies between latitudes 2° and 6° N, and longitudes 51° and 55° W. It consists of two main geographical regions: a coastal strip where the majority of the people live, and dense, near-inaccessible rainforest which gradually rises to
3721-411: Was the only one that made up the so-called Southern Region (Región Sur). In the following decade, following a legal reform, the state of Amazonas was integrated into this region. The region has a population of 1,383,297 inhabitants and a territory of 458,344 km (176,968 sq mi), slightly over half the area of the whole country. During the colonial period until the early 18th century, it
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