A relatively flat country
Facing the Atlantic Ocean in northwest Africa, Senegal looks like a head, with its hair pulled back, the Cape Verde peninsula in the shape of a nose and the Gambia in the shape of a mouth. However, under this pictorial map, a country is revealed where the reliefs are almost absent from the landscapes, or then unexpected. In this transitional zone that is the Sahel, vast expanses of undulating, sandy plains, rarely exceeding 130 meters in altitude on the Fouta-Toro side, cover a large majority of the country. One must go further southeast, into Bassari country, to see the first slopes of the Fouta-Djalon massif, which peaks across the border in Guinea Conakry at 1,500 meters. More hills and a few canyons carved out of the Niokolo Koba by the Gambia River, but nothing to get excited about: Mount Assirik, at 311 meters in a region that does not rise above 400 meters, is only the first step in the mountain range that only really rises once it crosses the border with Guinea to the south. As for the coastline, which stretches for more than 700 km along the Atlantic, it also has little relief, except for the volcanic coast of Cape Verde where the famous Mamelles hills in Dakar reach an altitude of more than 100 meters. Finally, on the Petite Côte, the famous ochre cliffs of Popenguine and Toubab Dialaw overhang magnificent fine sandy beaches, popular with surfers who come to face the waves of the Atlantic.
A limited hydrographic network
This apparently monotonous territory with a predominantly dry climate has a sparse hydrographic network, composed of rivers and lakes. The most emblematic of the country is undoubtedly the Senegal River, navigable from Saint-Louis to Kayes. It is 1,750 km long and originates in Guinea-Conakry, then traces part of its course in Mali, before finally embracing Senegal and Mauritania, which it separates by carving out a fertile strip of land in the heart of the arid Sahelian plain, before flowing into the Atlantic Ocean, near Saint-Louis. The Gambia River is the second largest river in the country in terms of size and flow. But, in reality, when it enters Senegalese territory from Guinea, it barely has time to irrigate the Bassari country before it already flows towards the Gambia to empty itself near Banjul. The Casamance River, for its part, crisscrosses the south of the country from east to west, over 320 km, before ending its course in the Atlantic Ocean, in a rather incongruous manner. More than 200 km away, the delta widens into hundreds and hundreds of arms of the sea, called bolongs, many of which are lost inland, forming marshes whose stagnant water is salinated by the rising tides. Even more striking than in Casamance, the Sine-Saloum delta, classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site since 2011, is a ria irrigated by seawater that helps feed the two eponymous fossil rivers during rising tides. Dry for much of the year, the Sine and Saloum are fed with fresh water only in the rainy season, but in insufficient quantity to avoid the movement of the tides to flow to the sea. This channel of bolongs offers to those who venture there by dugout canoe superb landscapes of mangroves, punctuated by a myriad of wild islets. In addition to its three major rivers, several lakes, lagoons and ponds complete the hydrographic network of the country, such as Lake Guiers and the ponds of the Niayes region.
Protected wetlands
Although Senegal has a rather dry and arid climate, the country is dotted with several wetlands, home to an exceptional biological diversity. The Ramsar Convention, one of the oldest agreements on the environment, aims to stop their degradation or disappearance, recognizing among other things their ecological functions. Among the 170 signatory countries, Senegal ratified this convention in 1977. Since then, eight Senegalese sites have been included in the List of Wetlands of International Importance. These include the Kalissaye Ornithological Reserve, nestled in the delta of the Casamance River, the Djoudj National Bird Park, a vast network of lakes and brackish ponds, the Somone Natural Reserve of Community Interest, consisting of a lagoon, channels, a mangrove and a sandy foreshore, and the Saloum Delta National Park, with its maze of inlets. These protected areas, which cover nearly 160,000 hectares in Senegal, are designed to preserve the most productive environments on the planet.
Lompoul, the only desert in Senegal
Almost halfway between Dakar and Saint-Louis, the enchanting landscapes of the Lompoul desert are revealed less than 10 km from the ocean. Almost as if it had appeared in the middle of nowhere, it offers a foretaste of the deserts of Mauritania, although much smaller, since it only extends over 30 km. Its dunes, made of fine ochre-colored sand, even red at certain times of the day, can reach heights of up to 50 meters. Here, vegetation grows very little, and temperatures can rise to over 40°C in the middle of the day and fall to below 20°C at night. In addition to this small dune desert, there are a few semi-desert areas, mainly consisting of shrub savannahs, in the Ferlo region of northeastern Senegal. For several decades now, the desert has been gaining more and more ground in the Sahel regions, and the Ferlo region has not been spared. To combat this desertification, eleven African countries, including Senegal, have committed to planting a 7,800 km Great Green Wall of vegetation from Dakar to Djibouti, combining desert date palms, acacias and jujube trees. The project, which began in 2007, is still a long way from achieving its aspirations, and only over 65,000 hectares have been planted to date in Senegal.
Islands as far as the eye can see
Off the coast or lost in the meandering bolongs, Senegal is home to a host of islands, some of which are veritable bird sanctuaries. Nestling in the bay of Dakar, the island of Gorée is undoubtedly the country's best-known, due to its dark past linked to the slave trade. But it also offers some beautiful scenery, formed of cooled lava and dominated to the south by a granite plateau. Situated in the middle of the harbor formed by the southern coast of the Cape Verde peninsula, this jewel of the Atlantic is sheltered from ocean winds, making it easy for ships to dock. Also just a stone's throw from Dakar are the neighboring islands of Ngor and Madeleine, also of volcanic origin. On one side, a paradise for tourists who come to enjoy the beaches, protected by a rocky barrier. On the other, a pristine archipelago of two islands with remarkable biodiversity. Not to be outdone, the Sine-Saloum delta offers an exceptional environment punctuated by almost 200 islands and islets. The deeper you go into the bolongs, the more you discover virgin islands carpeted with shells and inhabited by a myriad of birds, as well as a few inhabited islands such as Mar Lodj. With its maze of inlets jutting inland, Casamance is also home to numerous islands, both wild and inhabited. The largest of these is Carabane, located at the mouth of the Casamance River. Made up of sand and alluvial deposits, it offers a heavenly setting, with its beautiful palm-fringed beaches. The islands of Egueye, Ehidje, Eloubaline and Wendaye are also worth a mention, among the many others.
Lake Rose, a singular phenomenon
Located 35 km northeast of Dakar and a few hundred meters from the ocean, Lake Retba, better known as Lake Rose, is part of the Niayes area, which extends from the Cape Verde peninsula to Gandiol. Once connected to the Atlantic, it has dried up with time and drought, until it is separated from the ocean by sand dunes. This lagoon of 3 km², shallow, concentrates about 380 grams of salt per liter, that is to say a hundred times more than the Dead Sea: as much to say that one floats there like a boat! But what attracts most curious travelers is the beauty of the site, which reveals an orange-pink color, on sunny and not very windy days. This hue is due to micro-algae which, in order to protect themselves from the sun and the high concentration of salt, produce a red pigment of the carotene family. This phenomenon also occurs in the lagoons of the Saloum delta, notably in Palmarin, where women dig wells into which the very salty water of the sea arm seeps. These cones then take on multiple colors, from yellow to pink or blue to green, which are due to micro-algae. From the sky, the spectacle is magnificent!
Fragile sandbars
From the Cape Verde peninsula to Saint-Louis, the Grande Côte coastline is protected for some 180 km by a sandy barrier known as the Niayes. Between these white dunes, which can rise up to 20 meters in height, lie ancient river beds filled with fresh water. The land is very fertile, and market garden produce is plentiful. Tomatoes, cabbages, onions, lettuces and even zucchinis grow here, much to the delight of the locals. Further north, between the river and the ocean, the Langue de Barbarie, a strip of white sand, stretches for some 30 kilometers from the Mauritanian border to the mouth of the Senegal River. Once a natural barrier protecting the villages of the Atlantic coast, it is now threatened with extinction. Following high water levels and the risk of flooding the city of Saint-Louis in 2003, the authorities acted swiftly and decided to open a small breach, 7 km south of the city, to evacuate the fresh water. However, this ill-considered decision led to a veritable ecological catastrophe: the breach widened to the south, and salt water invaded the river, causing the water to rise, salinizing formerly fertile land and wiping out villages. Today, no lasting measures have been put in place to halt this phenomenon. What's more, with rising sea levels due to global warming, Senegal's coastline is particularly exposed to erosion. This phenomenon is particularly visible on the Petite Côte, where hotels are threatened by the advancing sea, and in the village of Guet Ndar, in Saint-Louis, where water is beginning to destroy fishermen's homes.
