Pointe des Almadies or Point Almadies ( " bark canoe point") is the westernmost point on the continent of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and of the

Afro-Eurasia Afro-Eurasia (also Afroeurasia and Eurafrasia) is a landmass comprising the continents of Africa, Asia, and Europe. The terms are compound (linguistics), compound words of the names of its constituent parts. Afro-Eurasia has also been called th ...

n landmass, lying at 17.5 degrees west of the

Greenwich meridian The Greenwich meridian is a prime meridian, a geographical reference line that passes through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, in London, England. From 1884 to 1974, the Greenwich meridian was the international standard prime meridian, ...

, 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 t ...

, 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, and Kap Weert or Bopp bu Nëtëx (in Wolof), 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 ...

peninsula in

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

Environs

Pointe des Almadies lies within the greater

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

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

Yoff 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 Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport. The town is built along the br ...

. 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 Earth's water surface areas using physiographical or geopolitical criteria. As such, it usually bounds areas of exclusive national rights over mineral and biological resources,VLIZ Maritime Boun ...

between the nearby countries of

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

and

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...

. 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 to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

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

Cape Schilling A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used thr ...

() 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 movie, surf documentary film directed, produced, edited and narrated by Bruce Brown (director), Bruce Brown. The film follows surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August on a surfing trip around the wor ...

'' where Bruce Brown shot the film's stars

Mike Hynson Mike Hynson (June 28, 1942 – January 10, 2025) was an American surfer and surfboard shaper. He was best known as one of the two subjects of Bruce Brown's 1966 surf documentary ''The Endless Summer'', along with Robert August. Hynson was bor ...

and

Robert August Robert August (born 1945) is an American surfer and surfboard shaper. He is best known as one of the subjects of Bruce Brown's 1966 surf documentary ''The Endless Summer'', along with his friend Mike Hynson. August was raised in Seal Beach, ...

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 Landforms of Senegal Almadies Ngor, Dakar