Senegal

Senegal. 1. A river of West Africa, formed by the confluence (in lat. 13° 50' N., long. 10° 50' W.) of the Bafing and the Bakhoy. It flows N.W. as far as Mafu, and, then turning W. and S.W., enters the ocean at St. Louis, after a journey of some 1,000 miles. It is navigable at certain seasons by vessels of slight draught as far as Medine, over 500 miles. Its two largest tributaries are the Baule and the Faleme, and below Mafu its delta includes several large islands.

2. A French colony, which takes its name from the river and has its capital at St. Louis, maintaining a line of forts and stations along the coast of the frontiers of Gambia, northwards to Bamuako on the Niger, and up the river to the territory that separates Gambia from Sierra Leone. The resources of the colony have been vigorously developed, the import and export trade amounting to four or five millions, and the ports of Dakkar and St. Louis being connected by railway.