The Guianas are subdivided into three principal zones from.... guiana french

The Guianas are subdivided into three principal zones from south to north: the Precambrian , a region of low mountains that lies along the southern borders of the three states and rises to the region's highest point, , 9,094 feet (2,772 metres); a lower region of hilly country covered by a tropical hardwood forest and occasional savanna grasslands; and the low-lying, narrow alluvial plain along the Atlantic coast. The region's name derives from an Indian word for such lowlands: guiana (land of water). French, Dutch, and English are the official languages, respectively, of French Guiana, Suriname, and Guyana, but there are also many speakers of a language combining the three with African and Asian dialects. The earliest-known American Indians of the Guianas called the land Surinen , whence the name Suriname originated. Under the (1667), the Dutch received Suriname from England in exchange for Nieuw Amsterdam (New York), and the French were awarded French Guiana, setting the s! tage for the expulsion of Dutch settlers from Cayenne. French Guiana abolished slavery in 1848, and Dutch-ruled Suriname did the same in 1863. In British Guiana settlers discovered in 1879, thereby inaugurating the exploitation of mineral resources that have since become the dominant industries of Guyana and Suriname. was first discovered (1915) in Suriname and subsequently in British Guiana. French Guiana in 1946 became a French overseas d rtement , while Suriname underwent constitutional reform (194851) and was granted self-government by The Netherlands in 1954 and independence in 1975. guiana french