Senegal: Geography

Senegal Geography Profile 2012

Senegal has a large coastline with the Atlantic Ocean on the west(coastline 530 km). The Senegal River is a northern border with Mauritania and east with Mali. To the southeast, the border with Guinea is crossed by the foothills of the mountains of Fouta Djallon and south-west of Guinea-Bissau by a rainforest. The Gambia forms an enclave between the region of Casamance from the rest of the country.

The Senegalese territory is between 8 and 12 ° 16 ° 41 north latitude and 11 ° 21 and 17 ° 32 west longitude.

The country covers 196,722 square kilometers [15]. Compared to its neighbors, Mali and Mauritania, Senegal is a of small size country .

Location:

Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania

Geographic coordinates:

14 00 N, 14 00 W

Map references:

Africa

Area

Total:

196,722 sq km

Comparison to the world:

Land:

192,530 sq km

Water:

4,192 sq km

Note:

Area comparative:

slightly smaller than South Dakota

Land boundaries Total:

2,640 km

Land boundaries Note:

Border countries

Countries:

The Gambia 740 km, Guinea 330 km, Guinea-Bissau 338 km, Mali 419 km, Mauritania 813 km

Coastline

Value:

531 km

Note:

Maritime claims

Territorial sea:

12 nm

Exclusive economic zone:

200 nm

Climate:

tropical; hot, humid; rainy season (May to November) has strong southeast winds; dry season (December to April) dominated by hot, dry, harmattan wind

Terrain:

generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast

Elevation extremes

Lowest point:

Atlantic Ocean 0 m

Highest point:

unnamed feature near Nepen Diakha 581 m

Note:

Natural resources:

fish, phosphates, iron ore

Land use

Kind:

arable land

Percentage:

12,51%

Year:

2005

Note:

Kind:

permanent crops

Percentage:

0,24%

Kind:

other

Percentage:

87,25%

Irrigated land

Value:

1,200 sq km

Year:

2003

Total renewable water resources

Value:

39.4 cu km

Year:

1987

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

Total:

2.22 cu km/yr (4%/3%/93%)

Per capital:

190 cu m/yr

Natural hazards:

lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts

Environment - current issues:

wildlife populations threatened by poaching; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; overfishing

Environment - international agreements

Party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

Signed but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

Geography note:

westernmost country on the African continent; The Gambia is almost an enclave within Senegal