Pointe des Almadies or Point Almadies ( "

bark canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

point") is the westernmost point on the continent of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

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 ...

n landmass, lying at 17.5 degrees west of the

Greenwich meridian The historic prime meridian or Greenwich meridian is a geographical reference line that passes through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, Royal Observatory, Greenwich, in London, England. The modern IERS Reference Meridian widely used today ...

, 8 degrees further west than

Cabo da Roca Cabo da Roca () or Cape Roca is a cape which forms the westernmost point of the Sintra Mountain Range, of mainland Portugal, of continental Europe, and of the Eurasian landmass. It is situated in the municipality of Sintra, near Azóia, in th ...

, mainland Europe's westernmost point. Pointe des Almadies is located on the north-western end of the

Cap Vert Cap-Vert, or the Cape Verde Peninsula, is a peninsula in Senegal and the westernmost point of the continent of Africa and of the Afro-Eurasia mainland. Portuguese explorers called it Cabo Verde or "Green Cape". The Cape Verde islands, further ...

peninsula in

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

Environs

Pointe des Almadies lies within the greater

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 ...

urban area from the village of N'gor and the town of

Yoff Yoff ( wo, Yoof; french: Yoff) is a town (''commune d'arrondissement''), part of the city (''commune'') of Dakar, located in Senegal. It lies north of downtown Dakar and immediately north of Dakar Airport ( Dakar-Yoff-Léopold Sédar Senghor Inter ...

. Pointe des Almadies is a 30 minutes trip from downtown Dakar, Senegal's capital city, and is served by local transportation. The site itself is approximately from the Dakar-Yoff-Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport. The Hôtel Méridien Présidentiel, the country's leading hotel and a major conference center, is located at Pointe des Almadies.

Ecology

STS054 STS054-94-32-north-south orientation-

An oceanic front exists in the waters off Pointe des Allmadies. The waters of the equatorial northern flank are measurably warmer than the southern flank, with differences of . This causes differences in water chlorophyll levels, and resultant differences in fish abundance on different sides of the peninsula. The point is also a very good location for watching migratory seabirds

Maritime boundary determination

Pointe des Almadies served an important role in a 1985 ruling that determined the

maritime boundary A maritime boundary is a conceptual division of the Earth's water surface areas using physiographic or geopolitical criteria. As such, it usually bounds areas of exclusive national rights over mineral and biological resources,VLIZ Maritime Bound ...

between the nearby countries of

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 ...

and

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...

. Both Guinea and Guinea-Bissau have short coastlines, so an international tribunal measured the general trend of the central West African coast from landmarks in the adjacent countries Senegal and

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 ...

. Pointe des Almadies marks the north-western point of reference and

Cape Schilling A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

() in Sierra Leone marks the south-eastern point of reference. The maritime boundary between Guinea and Guinea-Bissau extends in a direction perpendicular to a line connecting the relative positions of these two landmarks.

Surf

The Almadies peninsula was a featured location in the 1964 film ''

The Endless Summer ''The Endless Summer'' is a 1966 American surf documentary film directed, produced, edited and narrated by Bruce Brown. The film follows surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August on a surfing trip around the world. Despite the balmy mediterranea ...

'' where Bruce Brown shot the film's stars

Mike Hynson This is a list of people associated with surfing or surf culture. A *Reno Abellira (1950– ) (Haw) Smirnoff World Pro/Am winner in 1974 *Megan Abubo (1978– ) (Haw) *Eddie Aikau (1946–1978) (Haw) Award-winning surfer and lifeguard *Lisa ...

and

Robert August Robert August (born 1945) is an American surfer and surfboard shaper. Raised in Seal Beach, California, he attended Huntington Beach High School where he was ASB President his senior year. He is most famous as one of the subjects of Bruce Brow ...

at a reef near Pointe des Almadies. The best surfing in Senegal is on the peninsula, with locations within walking distance on both the north and south sides of the peninsula. Peak season is November through May.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pointe Des Almadies Dakar Landforms of Senegal Almadies