Gulf of Guinea


The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian is in the gulf.
Among the many rivers that drain into the Gulf of Guinea are the Niger and the Volta. The coastline on the gulf includes the Bight of Benin and the Bight of Bonny.

Name

The origin of the name Guinea is thought to be an area in the region, although the specifics are disputed. Bovill gives a thorough description:
The name "Guinea" was also applied to south coast of West Africa, north of the Gulf of Guinea, which became known as "Upper Guinea", and the west coast of Southern Africa, to the east, which became known as "Lower Guinea". The name "Guinea" is still attached to the names of three countries in Africa: Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Equatorial Guinea, as well as New Guinea in Melanesia.

Geography

The main river shedding its waters in the gulf is the Niger River.
Different definitions of the geographic limits of the Gulf of Guinea are given; the International Hydrographic Organization defines the southwest extent of the Gulf of Guinea as "A line from Cap Lopez, in Gabon, northwestward to Ihléu Gago Coutinho ; and thence a line from Ihléu Gago Coutinho northwestward to Cape Palmas, in Liberia.

Islands in the Gulf of Guinea

The Gulf of Guinea contains a number of islands, the largest of which are in a southwest-northeast chain, forming part of the Cameroon line of volcanoes.
Annobón, also known as Pagalu or Pigalu, is an island that is part of Equatorial Guinea.
Bobowasi Island is an island off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea that is part of the Western Region of Ghana.
Bioko is an island off the Ambazonian region of Cameroon in the Gulf of Guinea under the sovereignty of Equatorial Guinea.
Corisco is an island belonging to Equatorial Guinea.
Elobey Grande and Elobey Chico are two small islands belonging to Equatorial Guinea.
São Tomé and Príncipe is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea that became independent from Portugal in 1975. It is located off the western equatorial coast of Africa and consists of two islands, São Tomé and Príncipe. They are located about apart and about, respectively, off the northwestern coast of Gabon. Both islands are part of an extinct volcanic mountain range. São Tomé, the sizeable southern island, is situated just north of the Equator.