Pointe des Almadies

Pointe des Almadies or Point Almadies is the westernmost point on the continent of Africa.[1] Pointe des Almadies is located on the north-western end of the Cap Vert peninsula in Senegal.[2]

Pointe des Almadies

Environs

Pointe des Almadies lies within the greater Dakar urban area from the village of N'gor and the town of Yoff.[1][3]

Pointe des Almadies is a 30 minutes trip from downtown Dakar, Senegal's capital city, and is served by local transportation.[3] The site itself is approximately five kilometres (3 mi) from the Dakar-Yoff-Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport.[3] The Hôtel Méridien Présidentiel, the country's leading hotel and a major conference center, is located at Pointe des Almadies.[3]

Ecology
Satellite view

An oceanic front exists in the waters off Pointe des Allmadies.[4] The waters of the equatorial northern flank are measurably warmer than the southern flank, with differences of 2 to 3 °C (3.5 to 5.5 °F).[4] This causes differences in water chlorophyll levels, and resultant differences in fish abundance on different sides of the peninsula.[4] The point is also a very good location for watching migratory seabirds [5]

Maritime boundary determination

Pointe des Almadies served an important role in a 1985 ruling that determined the maritime boundary between the nearby countries of Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.[6] Both Guinea and Guinea-Bissau have short coastlines, so an international tribunal measured the general trend of the central West African coast from landmarks in the adjacent countries Senegal and Sierra Leone.[6][7] Pointe des Almadies marks the north-western point of reference and Cape Schilling (8.172411°N 13.164539°W / 8.172411; -13.164539[8]) in Sierra Leone marks the south-eastern point of reference.[6] The maritime boundary between Guinea and Guinea-Bissau extends in a direction perpendicular to a line connecting the relative positions of these two landmarks.[6]

Surf

The Almadies peninsula was a featured location in the 1964 film The Endless Summer where Bruce Brown shot the film's stars Mike Hynson and Robert August at a reef near Pointe des Almadies.[9][10] The best surfing in Senegal is on the peninsula, with locations within walking distance on both the north and south sides of the peninsula.[9] Peak season is November through May.[9]

References
  1. Andrew Burke, David Else, Lonely Planet Publications (Firm) (2002). The Gambia & Senegal. Lonely Planet. p. 236. Retrieved 2009-03-26.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. "Cape Verde Peninsula". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
  3. Jim Hudgens; Richard Trillo; Nathalie Calonnec (2003). The rough guide to West Africa. Rough Guides. pp. 200, 202–203. Retrieved 2009-03-26. Pointe des Almadies.
  4. Jacques C. J. Nihoul (1981). Ecohydrodynamics: Proceedings of the 12th International Liège Colloquium on Ocean Hydrodynamics. Elsevier. pp. 153–154. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
  5. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265563527_Seawatching_from_Point_des_Almadies_Senegal_October_1994?_iepl%5BviewId%5D=Y04Hux97XSGDpTmXxHGC1RuG&_iepl%5BprofilePublicationItemVariant%5D=default&_iepl%5Bcontexts%5D%5B0%5D=prfpi&_iepl%5BtargetEntityId%5D=PB%3A265563527&_iepl%5BinteractionType%5D=publicationTitle
  6. J René Jean Dupuy; Daniel Vignes (1991). The rough guide to West Africa. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. pp. 470–471. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
  7. P. B. Beazley, William (1994). Maritime law. IBRU. pp. 17–18. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
  8. Norie, John William (1835). A complete epitome of practical navigation. pp. 305. Retrieved 2011-01-17. cape schilling sierra leone.
  9. Matt Warshaw (2005). The Encyclopedia of Surfing. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 529. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  10. "Cape Verde Peninsula". Bruce Brown. Archived from the original on 2009-01-03. Retrieved 2009-03-28.

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