Climate
Tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation.
Landscape
Low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains, mostly an unsettled wilderness. It also consists of hill plateaus and the Tumuc-humac mountains.
Understand
First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements collectively known as Devil's Island until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou. It is the only portion of mainland South America still governed by an overseas nation.