| |
 |
Geography
|
Suriname
WITH an area of 163,820 sqkm, Suriname (苏里南) is one of the smallest countries in South America.
It is located on the continent's north-central coast. The capital, Paramaribo (帕拉马里博), is Suriname's largest city and a major seaport.
A narrow coastal plain extends to the north. Much of the plain is swampy (多沼泽的) and requires drainage systems and dikes to protect coastal agricultural land.
To the south of the coastal plain is a hilly and forested region, and south of that is an area that consists mostly of a large mountain range that covers four-fifths of the country.
The humid tropical climate has an average annual temperature of 27C. Tropical rain forests cover a large portion of Suriname.
The population is made up principally of East Indians, Creoles (克里奥尔人), Javanese, black Africans and American Indians. Dutch is the official language.
Suriname is one of the world's largest producers of bauxite (铝土矿). Most of it is exported to the United States and The Netherlands.
Rivers and canals are used extensively for freight and passenger travel. There are about 160 km of railway lines.
Population is (1998 estimate) 440,000.(SD-Agencies)
|
|
|
|
