Pointe des Almadies or Point Almadies ([pwɑ̃t dez‿almadi] "bark canoe point")[1] 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, mainland Europe's westernmost point.[2] Pointe des Almadies is located on the north-western end of the Cap Vert peninsula in Senegal.[3]
Pointe des Almadies | |
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  Pointe des Almadies  Pointe des Almadies  Pointe des Almadies | |
| Coordinates: 14°44′27″N 17°31′48″W / 14.7408°N 17.53°W | |
| Elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
Environs
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Pointe des Almadies lies within the greater Dakar urban area from the village of N'gor and the town of Yoff.[2][4]
Pointe des Almadies is a 30 minutes trip from downtown Dakar, Senegal's capital city, and is served by local transportation.[4] The site itself is approximately five kilometres (3 mi) from the Dakar-Yoff-Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport.[4] The Hôtel Méridien Présidentiel, the country's leading hotel and a major conference center, is located at Pointe des Almadies.[4]
Ecology
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An oceanic front exists in the waters off Pointe des Allmadies.[5] The waters of the equatorial northern flank are measurably warmer than the southern flank, with differences of 2 to 3 °C (3.5 to 5.5 °F).[5] This causes differences in water chlorophyll levels, and resultant differences in fish abundance on different sides of the peninsula.[5] The point is also a very good location for watching migratory seabirds[6]
Maritime boundary determination
editPointe des Almadies served an important role in a 1985 ruling that determined the maritime boundary between the nearby countries of Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.[7] 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.[7][8] Pointe des Almadies marks the north-western point of reference and Cape Schilling (8°10′21″N 13°09′52″W / 8.172411°N 13.164539°W[9]) in Sierra Leone marks the south-eastern point of reference.[7] The maritime boundary between Guinea and Guinea-Bissau extends in a direction perpendicular to a line connecting the relative positions of these two landmarks.[7]
Surf
editThe Almadies peninsula was a featured location in the 1964 film The Endless Summer where Bruce Brown shot the film's stars Mike Hynson and Robert August at a reef near Pointe des Almadies.[10][11] The best surfing in Senegal is on the peninsula, with locations within walking distance on both the north and south sides of the peninsula.[10] Peak season is November through May.[10]
References
edit- ^ "Almadie". en.wiktionary.org. 16 February 2022.
- ^ a b Andrew Burke; David Else (2002). The Gambia & Senegal. Lonely Planet. p. 236. ISBN 9781740591379. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ "Cape Verde Peninsula". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ a b c d Jim Hudgens; Richard Trillo; Nathalie Calonnec (2003). The rough guide to West Africa. Rough Guides. pp. 200, 202–203. ISBN 9781843531180. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
Pointe des Almadies.
- ^ a b c Jacques C. J. Nihoul (1981). Ecohydrodynamics: Proceedings of the 12th International Liège Colloquium on Ocean Hydrodynamics. Elsevier. pp. 153–154. ISBN 9780080870700. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ Allport, Gary A. (1995). "Seawatching from Point des Almadies, Senegal: Recent news". Bulletin of the African Bird Club. 2: 55. doi:10.5962/p.308887 – via ResearchGate.
- ^ a b c d J René Jean Dupuy; Daniel Vignes (1991). The rough guide to West Africa. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. pp. 470–471. ISBN 0792309243. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ P. B. Beazley, William (1994). Maritime law. IBRU. pp. 17–18. ISBN 9781897643082. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ Norie, John William (1835). A complete epitome of practical navigation. pp. 305. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
cape schilling sierra leone.
- ^ a b c Matt Warshaw (2005). The Encyclopedia of Surfing. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 529. ISBN 0156032511. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ "Cape Verde Peninsula". Bruce Brown. Archived from the original on 2009-01-03. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
External links
edit- Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Senegal". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.