The geography of

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ), ...

is that of low coastal plains bordering the Atlantic Ocean. The country borders

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

in the north and Guinea in the southeast.

Terrain and ecology

The terrain of Guinea-Bissau is mostly low coastal plain with swamps of Guinean mangroves 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 Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

phosphates In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phosph ...

bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO ...

, clay,

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

, limestone and unexploited deposits of

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

. 10.67% of the land is arable and 235.6 square kilometres is irrigated. Natural hazards include a hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze that may reduce visibility during the dry season and brush fires. Severe environmental issues include

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

; soil erosion;

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...

and overfishing. Near the Senegal border there have been historic sightings of the

painted hunting dog The African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus''), also called the painted dog or Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine which is a native species to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' Lyca ...

, ''Lycaon pictus'', but that

endangered 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 in ...

canid may now be

extirpated Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

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

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...

al-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

Climate diagram of Bissau, Guinea-Bissau

Bissagos Islands

Information from the CIA World Factbook

; Location : Western

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, bordering the North

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, 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 Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

; Land boundaries ;* Total: 762 km ;* Border countries: Guinea 421 km,

341 km ; Coastline : 350 km ; Maritime claims ;* Territorial sea: ;* Exclusive economic zone: ; Terrain : Mostly low coastal plain rising to

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

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 Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

, unexploited deposits of

; 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 Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

; soil erosion;

; overfishing ; Environment—international agreements: :* Party to:

Biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

Climate Change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands :* Signed, but not ratified: None of the selected agreements

Extreme points

This is a list of the extreme points of

, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location. * Northernmost point – the northern section of the border with

* * Easternmost point – unnamed location on the border with Guinea immediately south-west of the Guinean village of Sofan,

Gabú Region Gabú Region is the easternmost region in Guinea-Bissau. Its capital is Gabú. The region borders Senegal to the north, Guinea to the east and south and the Guinea-Bissau regions of Tombali and Bafatá to the west. It covers an area of 9,150&n ...

* Southernmost point – unnamed headland on Ilha Cataque,

Tombali Region Tombali is one of the eight regions in Guinea-Bissau. It is located in the extreme south of the country and its capital is Catió. There has not been any local administration since the civil war of 1998-99 and all social services are done by or ...

* Westernmost point -

Cape Roxo Cape Roxo ( pt, Cabo Roxo, french: Cap Roxo), is a headland in West Africa, marking the westernmost frontier of Guinea-Bissau with Senegal. On the lower side is the São Domingos district of the Cacheu Region of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, a ...

at the point where the border with

enters the

Cacheu Region Cacheu is a region in western Guinea-Bissau, on the border with Senegal. It has an area of 5,175 km2 and a population estimated in 2004 at 164,676. Its capital is Cacheu. There has not been any local administration since the civil war of 199 ...

* *''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,