French Guiana Country Mosaic
ESA · Download full size image
This MERIS (MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) image centers over French Guiana. French Guiana is an overseas department of France on the South American continent. The department remains very scarcely populated with about 180.000 people occupying an area slightly bigger than the island of Ireland.
80% Of the country is covered by dense tropical forest, and nearly all settlements and infrastructure are concentrated around the coast facing the Atlantic Ocean. Two main rivers Maroni and Oyapock define the frontiers with Suriname and Brasil respectively.
Thanks to the fact that this department lies close to the equator, which is favorable to rocket launches, a launch site was created in Kourou, about 50km from the department's capital Cayenne. The site now hosts an establishment from European Space Agency.
Technical Information:
- Satellite: Envisat
- Instrument: MERIS
- Center coordinates: lat. 3.88, lon. -53.50
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