The Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

is a very small and narrow African country with the border based on the

Gambia River The Gambia River (formerly known as the River Gambra) is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul. It is navigabl ...

. The country is less than wide at its greatest width. The country's present boundaries were defined in 1889 after an agreement between the United Kingdom and France. It is often claimed by Gambians that the distance of the borders from the Gambia River corresponds to the area that British naval cannon of the time could reach from the river's channel. However, there is no historical evidence to support the story, and the border was actually delineated using careful surveying methods by the Franco-British boundary commission. The Gambia is almost an enclave of

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

and is the smallest country on mainland Africa.

Terrain

The grassy flood plain of the Gambia river contains Guinean mangroves near the coast, and becomes

West Sudanian savanna The West Sudanian savanna is a tropical savanna ecoregion that extends across West Africa. Geography The ecoregion stretches east and west across West Africa, from the Atlantic coast of Senegal to the Mandara Mountains on Nigeria's eastern borde ...

upriver inland.

Statistics

Location: Western Africa, bordering the North

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 ...

and

Geographic coordinates The geographic coordinate system (GCS) is a spherical or ellipsoidal coordinate system for measuring and communicating positions directly on the Earth as latitude and longitude. It is the simplest, oldest and most widely used of the various ...

: Area:
''total:'' 11,295 km²
''land:'' 10,000 km²
''water:'' 1,295 km² * comparative: slightly less than

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

; slightly less than twice the size of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

Land boundaries:
''total:'' 749 km
''border countries:'' Senegal 749 km Coastline: 80 km Maritime claims: *''territorial sea:'' *''contiguous zone:'' *''exclusive fishing zone:'' *''continental shelf:'' extent not specified Climate: tropical; hot, rainy season (June to November); cooler, dry season (November to May) Terrain:

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

of the

, flanked by low hills Elevation extremes: * ''lowest point:'' Atlantic Ocean 0 m * ''highest point:'' at least 53 m according to ''

The World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is availabl ...

'' and a 1966 map by U.S.

National Imagery and Mapping Agency The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense whose primary mission is collecting, analyzing, and distributing geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in support of nation ...

:
The Gambia
'. Chapter ''Geography'' an
map
On a 1966 map, two points close to Jah Kunda and Nyamanari are indicated with 174 feet, thus 53 m. Source: West Africa, Joint Operations Graphic 1:250,000
map ND 28-11 Tambacounda, Senegal
(11MB). U.S.

. Map data from 1966. 64 m based on SRTM data calculated by peakbagger.com between Sabi and the Senegalese village Vélingara (),. located in a sandstone plateau at the border with

Malanding S. Jaiteh, Baboucarr Sarr:
Climate Change and Development in the Gambia: Challenges to Ecosystem Goods and Services
', p. 1–3. Map based on: The Gambia 50,000 database 2003 topographic data. Department of Local Government and Lands. Natural resources: fish, clay, silica sand, titanium (

rutile Rutile is an oxide mineral composed of titanium dioxide (TiO2), the most common natural form of TiO2. Rarer polymorphs of TiO2 are known, including anatase, akaogiite, and brookite. Rutile has one of the highest refractive indices at visib ...

and

ilmenite Ilmenite is a titanium-iron oxide mineral with the idealized formula . It is a weakly magnetic black or steel-gray solid. Ilmenite is the most important ore of titanium and the main source of titanium dioxide, which is used in paints, printing ...

tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

zircon Zircon () is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates and is a source of the metal zirconium. Its chemical name is zirconium(IV) silicate, and its corresponding chemical formula is Zr SiO4. An empirical formula showing some of t ...

Land use:
''arable land:'' 43.48%
''permanent crops:'' 0.49%
''other:'' 56.03% (2011) * Irrigated land: 50 km² (2011) * Total renewable water resources: 8 km³ (2011) * Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
''total:'' 0.09 km³/yr (41%/21%/39%)
''per capita:'' 65.77 m³/yr (2005) Current issues:

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

, desertification, prevalence of water-borne diseases, drought (rainfall has dropped by 30% in the last 30 years) Environment - party to international agreements on: *

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

, Kyoto Protocol, desertification, endangered species, hazardous wastes, law of the sea, ozone layer protection, ship pollution,

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industr ...

Extreme points

This is a list of the extreme points of the Gambia, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location. * Northernmost point – unnamed location on the border with

immediately south of the Senegalese village of Keur Mali Makham, Central River Division * Easternmost point – unnamed point on the border with

near the village of Sembagne,

Upper River Division Upper River was one of the five Divisions of the Gambia. Its capital was Basse Santa Su. It was subsequently reorganised as the Basse Local Government Area, without any change in the area covered. Per 2013 census, the region had a population ...

* Southernmost point – the point at which the border with Senegal enters the

at the mouth of the Allahein River, Western Division * Westernmost point - Bijol Islands, Western Division * Westernmost point (mainland) - Solifor Point, Western Division

Gallery

File:Fishing_boats_in_Bakau,_Gambia,_October_2006.jpg, Fishing boats in Bakau, Gambia Image:Gambia_050_from_KG.jpg, Children swimming near Lamin Lodge. Image:Gambia_027_from KG.jpg, The river. File:Gambia_129_from_KG.jpg, River bird Image:Gambia_003_from KG.jpg, A market. File:Crocuta_crocuta.jpg, The Spotted hyena is part of the Gambian fauna. File:Gambian wild hippo.jpg, Wild hippopotamus in the

References

Notes

{{Africa topic, Climate of