Curious places in French Guiana
4 articles, each fact-checked and tied to a spot you can stand on.
One of Earth's most biodiverse places. A single hectare contains more tree species than all of temperate North America. Scientists access the 50-meter canopy via suspended walkways and discover species unknown to science every expedition. Some trees here sprouted before Columbus sailed.
Some of Earth's oldest rocks sit in the jungle here. At 2.2 billion years old, this craton formed before any complex life existed. These ancient foundations have survived every mass extinction and continental collision since.
Rockets launched from here get a free 460 m/s boost from Earth's rotation. Five degrees from the equator, this is why Europe launches from South American jungle instead of European soil.
Advanced studies on how the female's back skin reorganizes during breeding to create individual chambers for each egg. The skin grows over them, and developing toadlets create a thin membrane around themselves before erupting fully formed from her back.
Prefer coordinates over lists? Every place here is a pin on the map.
Explore on the map