The geography of Guinea-Bissau is that of low coastal plains bordering the Atlantic Ocean. The country borders Senegal in the north and Guinea in the southeast.
The geography of Guinea-Bissau is that of low coastal plains bordering the Atlantic Ocean. The country borders Senegal in the north and Guinea in the southeast.
The terrain of Guinea-Bissau is mostly low coastal plain with swamps of Guinean mangroves rising to Guinean forest-savanna mosaic in the east.[1] 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. [2]
The lowest point on Guinea-Bissau is at sea level at the Atlantic Ocean.[1] The highest point in Guinea-Bissau is Monte Torin with an elevation of 262 m (860 ft).[1]
Natural resources found in Guinea-Bissau include fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone and unexploited deposits of petroleum.[1] 10.67% of the land is arable and 235.6 square kilometres are irrigated.[1]
Natural hazards include a hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze that may reduce visibility during the dry season and brush fires.[1] Severe environmental issues include deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing and overfishing.[1]
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.[3]
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Further information: Climate change in Africa |
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.[1]
Guinea-Bissau is warm all year around and there is little temperature fluctuation; it averages 26.3 °C (79.3 °F). The average rainfall for the capital city Bissau is 2,024 millimetres (79.7 in) 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 data for Bissau, Guinea-Bissau (1974-1994) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 36.7 (98.1) |
38.3 (100.9) |
38.9 (102.0) |
41.1 (106.0) |
39.4 (102.9) |
35.6 (96.1) |
33.3 (91.9) |
32.8 (91.0) |
33.9 (93.0) |
34.4 (93.9) |
35.0 (95.0) |
35.6 (96.1) |
41.1 (106.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 31.1 (88.0) |
32.8 (91.0) |
33.9 (93.0) |
33.3 (91.9) |
32.8 (91.0) |
31.1 (88.0) |
29.4 (84.9) |
30.0 (86.0) |
30.0 (86.0) |
31.1 (88.0) |
31.7 (89.1) |
30.6 (87.1) |
31.5 (88.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 24.4 (75.9) |
25.6 (78.1) |
26.6 (79.9) |
27.0 (80.6) |
27.5 (81.5) |
26.9 (80.4) |
26.1 (79.0) |
26.4 (79.5) |
26.4 (79.5) |
27.0 (80.6) |
26.9 (80.4) |
24.8 (76.6) |
26.3 (79.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 17.8 (64.0) |
18.3 (64.9) |
19.4 (66.9) |
20.6 (69.1) |
22.2 (72.0) |
22.8 (73.0) |
22.8 (73.0) |
22.8 (73.0) |
22.8 (73.0) |
22.8 (73.0) |
22.2 (72.0) |
18.9 (66.0) |
21.1 (70.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 12.2 (54.0) |
13.3 (55.9) |
15.6 (60.1) |
16.7 (62.1) |
17.2 (63.0) |
19.4 (66.9) |
19.4 (66.9) |
19.4 (66.9) |
19.4 (66.9) |
20.0 (68.0) |
15.0 (59.0) |
12.8 (55.0) |
12.2 (54.0) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.5 (0.02) |
0.8 (0.03) |
0.5 (0.02) |
0.8 (0.03) |
17.3 (0.68) |
174.8 (6.88) |
472.5 (18.60) |
682.5 (26.87) |
434.9 (17.12) |
194.8 (7.67) |
41.4 (1.63) |
2.0 (0.08) |
2,022.8 (79.63) |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 248 | 226 | 279 | 270 | 248 | 210 | 186 | 155 | 180 | 217 | 240 | 248 | 2,707 |
| Source 1: Sistema de Clasificación Bioclimática Mundial[4] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: World Climate Guides (sunshine only)[5] | |||||||||||||
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Main article: Bissagos Islands |
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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.
