The Guinea–Sierra Leone border is 794 km (493 m) in length and runs from 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 west to the tripoint with Liberia in the east.

Description

The border starts in the west at the Atlantic coast, and then proceeds overland in a north-easterly direction via various irregular and some straight lines, as well as the

Great Scarcies River Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

, before reaching the

10th parallel north The 10th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 10 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Central America, South America and the A ...

. The boundary then follows this parallel eastwards for circa 75 km (47 m), before proceeding in a south-westerly direction, cutting across the Loma and Tingi Mountains, down to the Meli river. The border follows the Meli down to the confluence with the Moa/Makona, and then follows the Makona eastwards to the Liberian tripoint.

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 po ...

was made a crown colony in 1808 and British rule gradually extended over the interior over the following decades.

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

had also taken an interest in the West African coast, settling in the region of modern

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

in the 17th century and later annexing the coast of what is now Guinea in the late 19th century as the

Rivières du Sud Rivières du Sud (English: ''Southern Rivers'') was a French colonial division in West Africa, roughly corresponding to modern coastal sections of Guinea. While the designation was used from the 18th to 20th century, the administrative division o ...

colony.Jean Suret-Canele (1971) ''French Colonialism in Tropical Africa 1900-1945'' Trans. Pica Press, pp 87-88. The area was renamed

French Guinea French Guinea (french: Guinée française) was a French colonial possession in West Africa. Its borders, while changed over time, were in 1958 those of the current independent nation of Guinea. French Guinea was established by France in 1891, ...

1893, and was later included within the French West Africa colony. The 1880s saw an intense competition between the European powers for territories in Africa, a process known as the Scramble for Africa. The process culminated in the

Berlin Conference The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, also known as the Congo Conference (, ) or West Africa Conference (, ), regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period and coincided with Germany's sudden emergenc ...

of 1884, in which the European nations concerned agreed upon their respective territorial claims and the rules of engagements going forward. As a result, France and Britain signed a treaty on 28 June 1882 delimiting a boundary between Sierra Leone and Guinea, terminating inland at an undetermined point; another treaty of 10 August 1889 extended the boundary further to the east. This boundary was extended again by a treaty of 21 January 1895 down to the vicinity of Timbekundu, and was then demarcated on the ground from December 1895-May 1896; this demarcation was approved by an exchange of notes in June 1898. Meanwhile, the French Guinea–Liberia border was modified in September 1907–11, as was the Liberia–Sierra Leone border in January 1911, thereby extending the French Guinea-Sierra Leone boundary further south. Britain and France confirmed the new French-Guinea-Sierra Leone boundary line in June 1911 and signed a treaty to this effect on 4 September 1913. French Guinea gained independence in 1958, followed by Sierra Leone in 1961, and the boundary then became one between two sovereign states. During the

Sierra Leone Civil War The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002), or the Sierra Leonean Civil War, was a civil war in Sierra Leone that began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), with support from the special forces of Liberian dictator Char ...

(1991-2001) some trouble occurred at the border town of

Yenga Yenga is a village in Kissi Teng Chiefdom, Kailahun District in the Eastern province of Sierra Leone. The village is at the international border between Sierra Leone and Guinea. Yenga is located on a hill above the south side of the confluen ...

, prompting Guinea to cross the border and occupy the town. The dispute was settled in 2013 and the town returned to Sierra Leonean control.

Settlements near the border

Guinea

* Pamela * Farmoriah * Degui * Moungata *

Koundou Koundou is a town and sub-prefecture in the Guéckédou Prefecture in the Nzérékoré Region of south-western Guinea, near the border of Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the south ...

Sierra Leone

* Kambia, Sierra Leone, Kambia * Bramaia * Kukuna * Koliba * Gberia Fotombu * Bendugu * Faragbema * Saiama * Kainkordu * Dia *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guinea-Sierra Leone border Borders of Guinea Borders of Sierra Leone International borders