Cap-Vert, or the Cape Verde Peninsula, is a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

and the westernmost point of the continent of Africa and of the

Afro-Eurasia Afro-Eurasia (also Afroeurasia, Eurafrasia or the Old World) is a landmass comprising the continents of Africa, Asia, and Europe. The terms are compound words of the names of its constituent parts. Its mainland is the largest and most populou ...

mainland. Portuguese explorers called it Cabo Verde or "Green Cape". The

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

islands, further west, are named after the cape.

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

, the capital of Senegal, occupies parts including its southern tip. Formed by a combination of volcanic offshore islands and a land bridge produced by coastal currents, the cape projects into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, bending back to the southeast at its tip. Exposure to southwesterly winds contributes to Cape Verde's seasonal verdant appearance, in contrast to the undulating yellow dunes to the north. The peninsula is shaped like a triangle (about per side), with the base of the triangle roughly along the north and its apex on the south, near

. Near

Pointe des Almadies Pointe des Almadies or Point Almadies ( " bark canoe point") is the westernmost point on the continent of Africa and of the Afro-Eurasian landmass, lying at 17.5 degrees west of the Greenwich meridian, 8 degrees further west than Cabo da Roca, main ...

, the north-western tip of the cape, lies

Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport (french: link=no, Aéroport international Léopold-Sédar-Senghor, ) is an international freight and former passenger airport serving Dakar, the capital of Senegal. The airport is situated near the t ...

, which was used as a transatlantic ferrying point during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Twin volcanic cones, the

Deux Mamelles Deux Mamelles, Collines des Mamelles, or simply Mamelles are twin hills located in Ouakam, a suburban commune of Dakar, in the Cap-Vert peninsula, Senegal. These hills are of volcanic origin and they are the vestiges of a plateau from the early ...

("Two Teats"), dominate the landscape along the coast northwest of

. The peninsula encloses a bay and a natural harbour in the southwest. The indigenous inhabitants of the peninsula, the

Lebou The Lebu (Lebou, ''Lébou'') are an ethnic group of Senegal, West Africa, living on the peninsula of Cap-Vert. The Lebu are primarily a fishing community, but they have a substantial business in construction supplies and real estate.Keese, Alexan ...

, lived as fishermen and farmers.Armand-Pierre Angrand, ''Les Lébous de la presqu'île du Cap-Vert'', Dakar, La Maison du Livre, 1951, 143 p. Since about 1444, when the Portuguese first sighted the cape, it has been an

entrepôt An ''entrepôt'' (; ) or transshipment port is a port, city, or trading post where merchandise may be imported, stored, or traded, usually to be exported again. Such cities often sprang up and such ports and trading posts often developed into co ...

for African-European trade. The French later established the city of

on the cape in 1857.

References

External links

Satellite picture by Google Maps
Landforms of Senegal Peninsulas of Africa Dakar {{Senegal-geo-stub