The geography of Guinea-Bissau is that of low coastal plains bordering the Atlantic Ocean. The country borders Senegal in the north and

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

in the southeast.

Terrain and ecology

The terrain of Guinea-Bissau is mostly low coastal plain with swamps of

Guinean mangroves The Guinean mangroves are a coastal ecoregion of mangrove swamps in rivers and estuaries near the ocean of West Africa from Senegal to Sierra Leone. Location and description Guinean mangroves can be found: in the Saloum River and Casamance del ...

rising to

Guinean forest-savanna mosaic Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

in the east. A recent global remote sensing analysis suggested that there were 1,203km² of tidal flats in Guinea-Bissau, making it the 28th ranked country in terms of tidal flat area. The lowest point on Guinea-Bissau is at sea level at the Atlantic Ocean. The highest point in Guinea-Bissau is

Monte Torin Monte Torin is the highest point of Guinea-Bissau, a country in Western Africa, with an elevation of . The hill is located in the administrative region Gabu, near the southern border with Guinea. It is named after the british explorer Lord To ...

with an elevation of . Natural resources found in Guinea-Bissau include fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone and unexploited deposits of petroleum. 10.67% of the land is arable and 235.6 square kilometres is irrigated. Natural hazards include a hot, dry, dusty

harmattan The Harmattan is a season in West Africa that occurs between the end of November and the middle of March. It is characterized by the dry and dusty northeasterly trade wind, of the same name, which blows from the Sahara over West Africa into the ...

haze that may reduce visibility during the dry season and brush fires. Severe environmental issues include deforestation;

soil erosion Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, air (wind), plants, and ...

; overgrazing and

overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in th ...

. Near the Senegal border there have been historic sightings of the painted hunting dog, ''Lycaon pictus'', but that endangered canid may now be extirpated in that locale.C. Michael Hogan. 2009
''Painted Hunting Dog: Lycaon pictus'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg

Climate

Guinea-Bissau's climate is tropical. This means it is generally hot and humid. It has a monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds and a dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds.U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. ''World Factbook''
/ref> Guinea-Bissau is warm all year around and there is little temperature fluctuation; it averages . The average rainfall for the capital city Bissau is although this is almost entirely accounted for during the rainy season which falls between June and September/October. From December through April, the country receives very little rainfall. Climate diagram of Bissau, Guinea-Bissau

Bissagos Islands

Information from the CIA World Factbook

; Location : Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal ; Geographic coordinates : ; Map references ; Area: :* Total: 36,125 km² :* Land: 28,120 km² :* Water: 8,005 km² ; Area—comparative : Slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut ; Land boundaries ;* Total: 762 km ;* Border countries:

421 km, Senegal 341 km ; Coastline : 350 km ; Maritime claims ;* Territorial sea: ;* Exclusive economic zone: ; Terrain : Mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east ; Elevation extremes: :* Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m :* Highest point: Unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m ; Natural resources : Fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum ; Land use: :* Arable land: 10.67% :* Permanent crops: 8.89% :* Other: 80.44% (2012 est.) ; Irrigated land : 223.6 km² (2003) ; Total renewable water resources : 31 km³ ; Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): :* Total: 0.18 km³/yr (18%/6%/76%) :* Per capita: 135.7 m³/yr (2005) ; Natural hazards : Hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires ; Environment—current issues: : Deforestation;

; overgrazing;

; Environment—international agreements: :* Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change,

Desertification Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused by ...

Endangered Species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection,

Wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

:* Signed, but not ratified: None of the selected agreements

Extreme points

This is a list of the extreme points of Guinea-Bissau, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location. * Northernmost point – the northern section of the border with Senegal* * Easternmost point – unnamed location on the border with

immediately south-west of the Guinean village of Sofan, Gabú Region * Southernmost point – unnamed headland on Ilha Cataque, Tombali Region * Westernmost point - Cape Roxo at the point where the border with Senegal enters the Atlantic Ocean, Cacheu Region * *''Note: Guinea-Bissau does not have a northernmost point, the border here being formed by a straight horizontal line''

Line notes

References

* C. Michael Hogan. 2009
''Painted Hunting Dog: Lycaon pictus'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
* U.S. Central Intelligence Agency

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geography Of Guinea-Bissau Geography of Guinea-Bissau,