The Liberia–Sierra Leone border is 299 km (185 mi) in length and runs from the tripoint with

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

in the north-east to 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 ...

in the south-west.

Description

The border starts in the north at the tripoint with Guinea in the Makona river, and then proceeds overland in a south-westerly direction, before following the Magowi river for some distance; this section of the border encompasses the so-called ‘Parrot’s Beak’ of Sierra Leone's

Kailahun District Kailahun District is a district in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital city, capital and largest city is the town of Kailahun. The second most populous city in the district is Segbwema. Other major towns in Kailahun District includ ...

. The boundary then proceeds via a straight line south to the Morro river, and then follows this river and the

Mano Mano may refer to: People * Mano people, an ethnic group in Liberia * Mano (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Mano (Mozambican footballer) (born 1984), real name Celso Halilo de Abdul * Mano (Portuguese footballer) ...

south-west out to the Atlantic.

History

Sierra Leone was founded by the British in the 1780s as haven for rescued and freed slaves; the area around

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

was made a crown colony in 1808 and British rule was gradually extended over the interior over the following decades. Liberia was founded as a colony for freed American slaves in 1822; various settlements were founded along the coast in the following years, with the bulk of them uniting to create the Republic of Liberia in 1847 (the

Republic of Maryland The Republic of Maryland (also known variously as the Independent State of Maryland, Maryland-in-Africa, and Maryland in Liberia) was a country in West Africa that existed from 1834 to 1857, when it was merged into what is now Liberia. The area ...

joined later in 1857).Hall, Richard, ''On Afric's Shore: A History of Maryland in Liberia, 1834-1857'' As the African interior began to be carved up due to the

Scramble for Africa The Scramble for Africa, also called the Partition of Africa, or Conquest of Africa, was the invasion, annexation, division, and colonisation of Africa, colonization of most of Africa by seven Western Europe, Western European powers during a ...

in the 1880s, an Anglo-Liberian boundary treaty was signed on 11 November 1885, which utilised the Mano river as the boundary; this was then extended further northwards by mutual agreement in June 1903. A treaty between France and Liberia delimiting the French Guinea–Liberia border resulted in Liberia ceding a sizeable strip of territory to France, and thereby shortened the Liberia-Sierra Leone boundary to roughly its current length. Britain and Liberia further modified the boundary in January 1911, with Liberia ceding the ‘Parrot’s Beak’ area to Sierra Leone in exchange for territories east the Mano river. This new boundary was then demarcated by a joint commission in 1913–14, and confirmed by agreement in 1917. Some further small adjustments were approved by treaty in January 1930, with the land sections of the border being marked on the ground with pillars. Sierra Leone gained independence in 1961 and the frontier then became one between two independent states. During the 1999s-early 2000s both states were engulfed in civil war and the border region became very unstable, with armed rebels and refugees frequently crossing the border.

Settlements near the border

Liberia

* Kongo * Meinke

Sierra Leone

* Baiwala * Bandajuma * Diselami * Gonohun

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberia-Sierra Leone border

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...