Guinea-Bissau Geography & Climate
Typical terrain of Guinea-Bissau
Climate
The climate in Guinea-Bissau 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.
Terrain and ecology
The terrain of Guinea-Bissau is mostly low coastal plain rising into a savannah in the east.
The lowest point on Guinea-Bissau is at sea level at the Atlantic Ocean. The highest point on Guinea-Bissau is 300 metres above sea level at an unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country.
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.
Bissagos Islands
The Bissagos Islands or Bijagós Archipelago are a group of some eighteen major islands and dozens more smaller ones in the Atlantic Ocean with an area of 2 624 km2 and a population of 30 000 (2006). They are a part of Guinea-Bissau. In pre-colonial times, the islands were central to the trade along the coast of West Africa and they built up a powerful navy. In 1535 this enabled them to rout the Portuguese when they attempted to conquer the islands.
Today, only twenty of the islands are inhabited and the others have only small populations of the Bijagós people. The southern islands are today a nature reserve. The islands of Bubaque, Bolama, and Caravela are the most populated and are visited by tourists. This continued even during the years of unrest in Guinea-Bissau as the islands remained isolated from those events.
They constitute a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, known for animals including marine turtles and monkeys and are mostly forested. The population mostly speaks Bijago and has a considerable degree of autonomy. The islands include: Bolama, Bubaque, Carache, Caravela, Enu, Formosa, Galinhas, João Viera, Maio, Meneque, Orango, Orangozinho, Ponta, Roxa, Rubane, Soga, Unhacomo, Uno and Uracane.
Orango is run by a matriarchy, in which the women choose their husbands, making each spouse-to-be a single plate of food (often a traditional fish eye platter). Agreement is marked by the eating of the fish.
The climate in Guinea-Bissau 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.
Terrain and ecology
The terrain of Guinea-Bissau is mostly low coastal plain rising into a savannah in the east.
The lowest point on Guinea-Bissau is at sea level at the Atlantic Ocean. The highest point on Guinea-Bissau is 300 metres above sea level at an unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country.
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.
Bissagos Islands
The Bissagos Islands or Bijagós Archipelago are a group of some eighteen major islands and dozens more smaller ones in the Atlantic Ocean with an area of 2 624 km2 and a population of 30 000 (2006). They are a part of Guinea-Bissau. In pre-colonial times, the islands were central to the trade along the coast of West Africa and they built up a powerful navy. In 1535 this enabled them to rout the Portuguese when they attempted to conquer the islands.
Today, only twenty of the islands are inhabited and the others have only small populations of the Bijagós people. The southern islands are today a nature reserve. The islands of Bubaque, Bolama, and Caravela are the most populated and are visited by tourists. This continued even during the years of unrest in Guinea-Bissau as the islands remained isolated from those events.
They constitute a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, known for animals including marine turtles and monkeys and are mostly forested. The population mostly speaks Bijago and has a considerable degree of autonomy. The islands include: Bolama, Bubaque, Carache, Caravela, Enu, Formosa, Galinhas, João Viera, Maio, Meneque, Orango, Orangozinho, Ponta, Roxa, Rubane, Soga, Unhacomo, Uno and Uracane.
Orango is run by a matriarchy, in which the women choose their husbands, making each spouse-to-be a single plate of food (often a traditional fish eye platter). Agreement is marked by the eating of the fish.
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