Geography

Senegal is located on the west of the African continent, bordered to the west by the North Atlantic Ocean. On land, the nation's largest border is Mauritania to the north, an 813 km border along the Senegal River. To the east is the 419 km border with Mali. In the southeast is Guinea (330 km border) and to the south-southwest is Guinea-Bissau (338 km), both borders running along the Casamance River.

Senegal is one of only a handful of countries to have a near-enclave within its borders - the small nation of The Gambia in the interior, which has a 740 km border with Senegal. The Gambia penetrates more than 320 km into Senegal, from the Atlantic coast to the centre of Senegal along the Gambia River, which bisects Senegal's territory. In total, Senegal has 2,640 km of land borders, and 531 km of coastline and shoreline. Senegal makes maritime claims of a 44 km (24 nautical mile) contiguous zone, a 22 km (12 nautical mile) territorial sea, and a 370 km (200 nautical mile) exclusive economic zone. It also claims a 370 km (200 nautical mile) continental shelf, or to the edge of the continental margin.

The country's total area is 196,190 sq km, of which 192,000 sq km is land and 4,190 sq km is water, making the nation slightly smaller than mainland Britain.

The Senegalese landscape consists mainly of the rolling sandy plains of the western Sahel which rise to foothills in the southeast. Here is also found Senegal's highest point, an otherwise unnamed feature near Nepen Diakha in the Fouta Djallon foothills at 581 m (1,900 ft). The lowest point in Senegal is the Atlantic Ocean, at sea level. The northern border is formed by the Senegal River, other rivers include the Gambia and Casamance Rivers. The capital Dakar lies on the Cap-Vert peninsula, the westernmost point of continental Africa.