What is the westernmost point of mainland Africa?

What is the westernmost point of mainland Africa? Pointe des Almadies in Senegal is the answer.

Pointe des Almadies is a rocky headland at the northwestern end of Senegal’s Cap-Vert Peninsula, within the greater Dakar area. At about 17.5 degrees west longitude, it projects farther west than the better-known Cape Spartel in Morocco or Cape Verde locations farther south.

The name is associated with almadies, small bark canoes traditionally used in the region. The headland is also a maritime landmark: its position helped define reference points in a 1985 international ruling on the sea boundary between Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.

Pointe des Almadies is not an isolated wilderness. It lies near Dakar, the village of Ngor and the former Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport, and the peninsula is known for tourism, surfing and seabird watching. Cape Verde is a frequent mix-up because it sounds like a geographic extreme, but Cape Verde is an island country and its name does not identify Africa’s westernmost mainland point.