Draw Senegal from Memory
Test your geography knowledge by drawing Senegal from memory on a blank canvas. Shape comparison scoring is coming soon — practice Senegal's outline in the meantime.
Related Countries in Africa
Why Senegal Looks the Way It Does
A hole, of all things, dictates the outline: the Gambia, a sliver of former British territory following its river inland for hundreds of kilometers, cuts deep into the country and leaves the southern Casamance hanging from a narrow neck. The cut is old. France planted Saint-Louis at the Senegal River mouth in 1659, Britain held Fort James at the mouth of the Gambia, and an Anglo-French agreement of 1889 confirmed that the river and a strip along its banks would stay British.
That arrangement shaped everything around it. French trade and administration had to pass either north of the river or south of it, and Dakar, on the tip of the Cape Verde peninsula at Pointe des Almadies, the westernmost piece of mainland Africa, became the harbor and, from 1902, the capital of all French West Africa, while Saint-Louis, the older seat, stayed where the colony had begun, on an island at the river's mouth. The ports grew on the coast precisely because the interior was pinched in the middle.
Independence did not undo the split; Senegal and Gambia even tried a confederation between 1982 and 1989, and its collapse settled the question for good. Elsewhere the borders are more conventional, the Senegal River against Mauritania and negotiated lines toward Mali, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, while Casamance, greener and wetter than the north, has never quite shared the rest of the country's politics. Sketching it from memory is mostly a matter of the wedge: draw the river's narrow finger inland first and the whole shape gathers around it.
Quick Facts: Senegal
- Capital
- Dakar
- Continent
- Africa
- Bordering countries
- 5 countries — Mauritania, Mali, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia
- Area
- 196,722 km²
What is "Drawing Senegal from Memory"?
Drawing Senegal from memory means sketching Senegal's border on a blank canvas without looking at a map. Focus on the country's distinctive features and overall shape — that's what pushes your accuracy score up.
Senegal sits in Africa and is rated ★★ out of 4 for drawing difficulty — a manageable, compact shape for a first try. It connects to 5 neighboring country pages on this site. Border comparison scoring for Senegal is coming soon — the shape tips below will get your mental map sharp before it lands.
Senegal sits on the far western bulge of Africa, a roughly rectangular country with the Atlantic to its west. The Gambia, a narrow country, juts into its middle, nearly splitting the north from the southern Casamance region.
How to Draw Senegal from Memory
Step 01
Sketch Senegal as a broad, roughly rectangular block anchored on the far western tip of mainland Africa, with the Atlantic filling the whole western side. Keep it compact and boxy, and remember this is the westernmost point of the entire continent, so push it well out into the ocean; that bulge is the anchor for the whole drawing.
Step 02
Draw The Gambia as a long, narrow wedge driven into the middle of Senegal's western coast, following the Gambia River inland. This bite nearly separates the country in two, so let the wedge cut deep and narrow, keeping its two banks parallel; it is the single most distinctive feature that makes Senegal's outline instantly recognizable.
Step 03
Anchor the rest of the outline with Senegal's neighbors: Mauritania caps the north across the Senegal River, Mali holds the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau shape the south below the wedge. Keep the southern Casamance region as a broad pocket between the Gambia and Guinea-Bissau, easy to forget but the true southern quarter, and the block is complete.
Africa's westernmost fist jutting into the Atlantic, with the Gambia biting a narrow wedge into its belly and the Casamance hanging below.
How Senegal Is Scored
When you hit Reveal & compare, your sketch is measured against Senegal's real border, point by point, in the same canvas space. Three numbers come back:
Matched — the share of the real border your drawing covered. 100% means you traced every part of the outline.
Extra — how much of your drawing fell outside the true border. This catches sketches that are too big, mispositioned, or drifting off.
Missed — the border you didn't reach, the flip side of Matched.
The three combine into a single 0–100 accuracy score. The rating names give you a target: 80+ is Cartographer, 60+ is Border patrol, 40+ is Getting there, and below 40 is Try again.
Automated scoring for Senegal is coming soon. When it ships, drawing large and centered will be the fastest way to raise your score, because a small sketch overlaps less of the true border.
FAQ
- Which countries are Senegal's neighbors?
- Senegal connects to 5 neighboring country pages on this site: Mauritania, Mali, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Gambia. Once you've drawn Senegal, try a neighbor next — drawing two shapes side by side locks both into your mental map.
- How hard is it to draw Senegal from memory?
- Senegal is rated ★★ out of 4 for drawing difficulty — a manageable, compact shape for a first try. Automated scoring is coming soon, so use the shape tips below to practice in the meantime.
- How is my Senegal drawing scored?
- Once Senegal's border data goes live, your sketch will be compared with the real border point by point. You'll get a 0–100 score built from Matched, Missed, and Extra, plus a clear overlay showing where you nailed it and where you drifted.
- Can I draw Senegal on mobile?
- Yes — Senegal works on desktop, tablet, and mobile. Draw with your finger on touchscreens; no app download is required and it runs directly in your browser.