Guyana is situated on the north- eastern coast of the continent of South America between l degree and 9 degrees north latitude, and 57 degrees and 61 degrees west longitude. It is bounded on the north by the Atlantic Ocean, on the east by Suriname, on the south and southwest by Brazil, and on the northwest by Venezuela. Its coastline stretches for some 270 miles and it extends inland for about 450 miles. About 35 percent of the country, the area approximately below 4 degrees north latitude, lies within the Amazon Basin. Guyana Standard Time is four hours behind Greenwich Mean Time and one hour ahead of Eastern Standard Time. (GMT-4). The area of Guyana is 83,000 square miles (215,000 square kilometers), which is slightly larger than the state of Idaho or slightly smaller than the United Kingdom, excluding Northern Ireland.