Senegal (French: le Sénégal), officially the Republic of Senegal (République du Sénégal, IPA: [ʁepyblik dy seneɡal]), is a country south of the Sénégal River in western Africa.
It owes its name to the river that borders it to the East and North and that originates from the Fouta Djallon in Guinea.
Senegal is externally bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south; internally it almost completely surrounds The Gambia, namely on the north, east and south, exempting Gambia’s short Atlantic Ocean coastline.
Senegal covers a land area of almost 197,000 km², and has an estimated population of about 14 million.The climate is tropical with two seasons: the dry season and the rainy season.
Dakar, the capital city of Senegal, is located at the westernmost tip of the country on the Cap-Vert peninsula.
About 300 miles off the coast, in the Atlantic Ocean, lie the Cape Verde Islands. During colonial times, numerous trading Counters, belonging to various colonial empires were established along the coast. The town of St Louis became the capital of French Western Africa (Afrique Occidentale Francaise, or AOF) before it was moved to Dakar in 1902. Dakar later became its capital in 1960 at the time of independence from France.
Notes from Wikipedia
