French Guiana

French Guiana, French overseas department on the northeast coast of South America. It is bounded by Surinam on the west and Brazil on the east and south, and consists of a strip of lowland along the 200-mi (322-km) Atlantic coastline and a hilly interior stretching about 225 mi (363 km) inland. Its economy rests on the timber trade from its massive forests and on shrimp fishing. It was made an overseas department in 1947. The chief city is Cayenne. In Kourou is the European space station where the Ariane rockets are launched.