Senegal - National Park of the Magdalen Islands

The Îles de la Madeleine National Park, both natural paradise and cultural site for the fishing community Lebou, is about 4 km west of Dakar in the Atlantic Ocean. It houses the protective genius "Ndoek-Daour" of the city of Dakar according to the traditions of this community. This park, with an area of ​​15 ha, is composed of two islets surrounded by a maritime fringe of 50 meters. The cliff reaches a height of 35 meters and surrounds a horizontal plateau, dominated to the south by two small rocky snags, one of which bears the ruins of a very old construction dating back at least several centuries. To the south, the plateau slopes gently towards a creek, sometimes called "HUBERT Creek", the only place where berthing is possible. Behind this creek is a natural basin, a kind of aquarium 30 m long, 10 m wide and 4 m deep, and "where you can bathe safely" (Adanson, 1749 ). 250 meters to the southeast, some inaccessible rocks, forming two groups of unequal importance, justify the expression "Iles de la Madeleine". On some maps these reefs are often called "Lougnes Islands".