Why Is The Gambia So Narrow? The Country Built Around a River

Why does The Gambia stretch inland as a thin strip around a river, with Senegal on three sides and the Atlantic Ocean at its western end? Follow the River Gambia from its estuary into the history behind one of Africa's most distinctive borders. This documentary explores communities that predate the boundary, British and French colonial interests, the 1889 boundary arrangement, and the country's path to independence in 1965. Then discover why the Senegambia Confederation did not erase the border, how the Senegambia Bridge changed journeys across the river, and how farming, fishing, markets and wetlands shape life beyond the map. Subscribe to Tervox Geography for documentaries about the places, people and histories behind the world's borders. CHAPTERS 00:00 A country shaped like a river 01:39 Before there was a border 04:06 A waterway worth controlling 06:45 How the narrow outline was drawn 09:22 A colony becomes a country 11:50 The attempt called Senegambia 14:23 The border meets the road 17:03 The river people live with 20:05 More than a thin line #Gambia #Geography #Senegal