The Lompoul desert (sometimes spelled Lumpoul; in French: désert de Lompoul) is a small desert (about 18 km²) located 145 km south of

Saint-Louis, Senegal Saint-Louis () or Saint Louis (), is the capital of Senegal's Saint-Louis Region. Located in the northwest of Senegal, near the mouth of the Senegal River, and north of Senegal's capital city Dakar. It had a population of 254,171 in 2023. Saint-L ...

. It is characterized by orange

sand dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

s forming a landscape that is more akin to those of the

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

and

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

than those of the surrounding area of Senegal (the

Grande Côte The Grande Côte is a stretch of coastline in Senegal, running north from the Cap-Vert peninsula of Dakar to the border with Mauritania at Saint-Louis, Senegal, St-Louis. A sandy beach runs along the entire coast, which, unlike the Petite Côte, ...

), and is a popular tourist attraction of Senegal. The desert is named after the closest settlement, i.e., the village of .

Festival du Sahel

Since 2009, a

music festival A music festival is a festival, community event with music, performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock music, rock, blues, folk music, folk, jazz, classical music), nation ...

named "Festival du Sahel" take place in the desert. Festivaldusahel.com

Footnotes

Geography of Senegal Deserts of Senegal {{Senegal-geo-stub