Region
West Africa
Also Known As Western Africa
Africa
A region of Africa running along the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Guinea and inland to the Sahel, encompassing tropical coastal states and the drier savanna belt behind them. Its historic kingdoms and trading networks, and the Atlantic slave trade that later moved through its coastal ports, carried West African staple crops and cooking techniques directly into the Americas. Minted here as the home region West African cuisine is described against in FoodAtlas's own founding wave (ruling 632, mint-on-mention).
Facts
Area (sq km)UN Geoscheme Western Africa, 16 states and territories. Population2025 estimate, UN Geoscheme definition. Connections
Associated With
Source Gambia River (Wikipedia)
Mali, Countries Mali is a landlocked state of western Africa the atlas own West Africa region entity already describes.
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Source Niger River (Wikipedia)
Source United Nations M49 Standard Country or Area Codes for Statistical Use (Geoscheme)
This source names The Sahel directly: "and the Gulf of Guinea and inland to the Sahel, encompassing tropical coastal states and the drier savanna belt behind them."
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Language Atlas: Hausa, part of this there.
Sources
1. West Africa (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationIntroductionQuote, Introduction
West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa.
2. Encyclopaedia Britannica
United Nations M49 Standard Country or Area Codes for Statistical Use (Geoscheme)
United Nations Statistics DivisionAssociated With: Sub-Saharan Africa, Africa regional structureQuote, Associated With: Sub-Saharan Africa, Africa regional structure
Sub-Saharan Africa (202): Eastern Africa (014), Middle Africa (017), Southern Africa (018), Western Africa (011)
Niger River (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Niger River, Lead sectionQuote, Associated With: Niger River, Lead section
It runs in a crescent shape through southwest Mali and through southwest Niger, on the border with Benin, and then through Nigeria, discharging through a massive delta, known as the Niger Delta, into the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean.
Gambia River (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Gambia River, Lead sectionQuote, Associated With: Gambia River, Lead section
The Gambia River is a major river in West Africa, running 1,120 kilometres (700 mi) from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean.
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