View source for Geography of Guinea

{{Short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{More citations needed|date=April 2019}}[[File:Un-guinea.png|thumb|350px|A map showing [[List of cities in Guinea|Guinea's cities]] and [[Administrative divisions of Guinea|administrative divisions]].]]
[[File:LocationGuinea.svg|thumb|Location of Guinea]]

[[Guinea]] is a country on the coast of West Africa and is bordered by [[Guinea-Bissau]], [[Senegal]], [[Mali]], [[Ivory Coast]], [[Liberia]], and [[Sierra Leone]].

Guinea is divided into four geographic regions: [[Maritime Guinea]] (Lower Guinea) a [[coastal plain]] running north to south behind the coast; the pastoral [[Fouta Djallon]] highlands ([[Middle Guinea]]); the northern [[savanna]] ([[Upper Guinea]]); and a southeastern rain-forest region ([[Forest Guinea]]).

==Location==
Guinea lies in western [[Africa]], bordering the North [[Atlantic Ocean]], between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone. Its geographic coordinates are {{coord|11|00|N|10|00|W|type:country}}.
==Area and boundaries==
; Area:
:* Total: 245,857 km²
:**''country rank in the world:'' 77th
:* Land: 245,717 km²
:* Water: 140 km²

; Area comparative
:* Australia comparative: slightly larger than [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]]
:* Canada comparative: slightly more than {{sfrac|1|2}} the size of the [[Yukon]]
:* United Kingdom comparative: approximately the size of the United Kingdom
:* United States comparative: slightly smaller than [[Oregon]]
:* [[European Union|EU]] comparative: slightly larger than [[Romania]]
Guinea's land boundaries span a total of 4,046&nbsp;km: with Ivory Coast 816&nbsp;km, Guinea-Bissau 421&nbsp;km, Liberia 590&nbsp;km, Mali 1,062&nbsp;km, Senegal 363&nbsp;km, and Sierra Leone 794&nbsp;km. It has a 320-km coastline, and claims an [[exclusive economic zone]] of {{convert|200|nmi|km mi|1|abbr=on|lk=in}}, with a territorial sea of {{convert|12|nmi|km mi|1|abbr=on}}.

==Climate==

The coastal region of Guinea and most of the inland have a tropical climate, with a [[monsoon]]al-type rainy season lasting from April to November, relatively high and uniform temperatures, southwesterly winds, and high humidity.

The capital [[Conakry]]'s year-round average high is {{convert|32|C|F|1}}, and the low is {{convert|21|C|F|1}}. Conakry's average annual rainfall is almost {{convert|3800|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}. Sahelian Upper Guinea has a shorter rainy season and greater daily temperature variations. There is a dry season (December to May) with northeasterly [[harmattan]] winds.

{{Weather box
|width = auto
| location = Conakry (1961-1990)
| metric first = yes
| single line = yes
| Jan high C = 32.2
| Feb high C = 33.1
| Mar high C = 33.4
| Apr high C = 33.6
| May high C = 33.2
| Jun high C = 31.8
| Jul high C = 30.2
| Aug high C = 29.9
| Sep high C = 30.6
| Oct high C = 30.9
| Nov high C = 32.0
| Dec high C = 32.2
| year high C = 31.9
| Jan mean C = 26.1
| Feb mean C = 26.5
| Mar mean C = 27.0
| Apr mean C = 27.4
| May mean C = 27.5
| Jun mean C = 26.5
| Jul mean C = 25.5
| Aug mean C = 25.2
| Sep mean C = 25.6
| Oct mean C = 26.3
| Nov mean C = 27.0
| Dec mean C = 26.6
| year mean C = 26.4
| Jan low C = 19.0
| Feb low C = 20.2
| Mar low C = 21.2
| Apr low C = 22.0
| May low C = 20.7
| Jun low C = 20.2
| Jul low C = 20.4
| Aug low C = 20.8
| Sep low C = 20.7
| Oct low C = 20.4
| Nov low C = 21.0
| Dec low C = 20.1
| year low C = 20.6
| rain colour = green
| Jan rain mm = 1
| Feb rain mm = 1
| Mar rain mm = 3
| Apr rain mm = 22
| May rain mm = 137
| Jun rain mm = 396
| Jul rain mm = 1130
| Aug rain mm = 1104
| Sep rain mm = 617
| Oct rain mm = 295
| Nov rain mm = 70
| Dec rain mm = 8
| year rain mm = 3784
| Jan rain days = 0
| Feb rain days = 0
| Mar rain days = 0
| Apr rain days = 2
| May rain days = 9
| Jun rain days = 18
| Jul rain days = 27
| Aug rain days = 27
| Sep rain days = 22
| Oct rain days = 17
| Nov rain days = 6
| Dec rain days = 1
| year rain days = 129
| unit rain days = 1.0 mm
| Jan humidity = 71
| Feb humidity = 70
| Mar humidity = 68
| Apr humidity = 70
| May humidity = 74
| Jun humidity = 81
| Jul humidity = 85
| Aug humidity = 87
| Sep humidity = 85
| Oct humidity = 81
| Nov humidity = 79
| Dec humidity = 73
| year humidity = 77
| Jan sun = 223
| Feb sun = 224
| Mar sun = 251
| Apr sun = 222
| May sun = 208
| Jun sun = 153
| Jul sun = 109
| Aug sun = 87
| Sep sun = 135
| Oct sun = 189
| Nov sun = 207
| Dec sun = 214
| year sun = 2222
| source 1 = NOAA<ref name="NOAA">{{cite web |url=ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/GW/61832.TXT |title=Conakry Climate Normals 1961–1990 |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702203913/ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/GW/61832.TXT |archive-date=2021-07-02 |url-status=dead | access-date=6 July 2015}}</ref>
| date=August 2010}}

== Rivers and water ==

[[File:Guinea Topography.png|thumb|350px|Guinea's topography.]]

{{Further|List of rivers of Guinea}}

The [[Niger River]], the [[Gambia River]], and the [[Senegal River]] are among the 22 West African rivers that have their origins in Guinea.

==Ecoregions==
* [[Guinean forest-savanna mosaic]] covers most of the country, covering most of Maritime Guinea and Upper Guinea, as well as the lower elevations of the Fouta Djallon. It extends north into Guinea Bissau and Senegal, and east through Mali and Ivory Coast.
* [[Western Guinean lowland forests]] occupies the southwestern portion of Maritime Guinea around Conakry, and Forest Guinea, along with coastal Sierra Leone, Liberia, and western Ivory Coast.
* [[Guinean montane forests]], cover the Fouta Djallon and [[Guinea Highlands]] of southeast Guinea above an elevation of 600 meters.
* [[Guinean mangroves]], in the coastal estuaries. Enclaves extend north into Guinea Bissau, Gambia and Senegal, and southeast through Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ivory Coast.

==Resources and environment==

The country's natural resources include [[bauxite]], [[iron ore]], [[diamond]]s, [[gold]], [[uranium]], hydropower, fish, and salt. It has 12.21% arable land, and 2.85% of the land is permanent crops. 949.2&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (2003) of land is irrigated. Guinea's total renewable water resources total 226&nbsp;km<sup>3</sup>.

=== Environmental issues ===
Current environmental issues in Guinea include: [[deforestation]]; inadequate supplies of potable water; [[desertification]]; [[soil contamination]] and erosion; and [[overfishing]] and [[Human overpopulation|overpopulation]] in forest regions.  Poor [[mining]] practices have led to environmental damage.

Guinea is party to the following international environmental agreements: [[Biodiversity]], [[Desertification]], Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, [[Law of the Sea]], Ozone Layer Protection, [[Ship Pollution]], Wetlands, Whaling.

== Terrain ==

Its terrain is generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior. The country's lowest point is the Atlantic Ocean (0 m), and highest is [[Mont Nimba]] (1,752&nbsp;m).

A recent global [[remote sensing]] analysis suggested that there were 549km² of tidal flats in Guinea, making it the 47th ranked country in terms of tidal flat area.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Murray |first1=N.J. |last2=Phinn |first2=S.R. |last3=DeWitt |first3=M. |last4=Ferrari |first4=R. |last5=Johnston |first5=R. |last6=Lyons |first6=M.B. |last7=Clinton |first7=N. |last8=Thau |first8=D. |last9=Fuller |first9=R.A. |title=The global distribution and trajectory of tidal flats |journal=Nature |date=2019 |volume=565 |issue=7738 |pages=222–225 |doi=10.1038/s41586-018-0805-8 |pmid=30568300 |s2cid=56481043 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0805-8|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

This is a list of the extreme points of [[Guinea]], the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.

* Northernmost point – the northern section of the border with [[Senegal]], [[Boké Region]]*.
* Easternmost point – the [[confluence]] of the Gben river and the Férédougouba river on the border with [[Ivory Coast]], [[Nzérékoré Region]].
* Southernmost point – unnamed location on the border with [[Liberia]] immediately south of the village of Gonon, Nzérékoré Region.
* Westernmost point –  Ile du Noufrage, Boké Region.
* Westernmost point (mainland) – the point at which the border with [[Guinea-Bissau]] enters the Rio Compony estuary.
* *''Note: Guinea does not have a northernmost point, this section of the border being formed by a straight [[latitudinal]] line''

== See also ==
* [[Administrative divisions of Guinea]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}{{CIA World Factbook}}{{Guinea topics}}
{{Geography of Africa}}
{{Africa topic|Climate of}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geography Of Guinea}}
[[Category:Geography of Guinea| ]]