Guinea

 

(gĭn'ē), large open arm of the Atlantic Ocean formed by the great bend of the coast of W Africa. It extends from the western coast of Côte d'Ivoire to the Gabon estuary and is bounded on the south by the equator. The bights of Benin and Biafra belong to the gulf. The exploitation of major offshore oil deposits began in the late 1990s. There are also metal ore deposits. Islands in the gulf include Bioko (formerly Fernando Po), São Tomé, and Principe.

Coordinates: 1°0′N, 4°0′E

The Gulf of Guinea is the part of the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Africa. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude ) is in the gulf. According to the International Hydrographic Organization, the Gulf's oceanic border is the rhumb line that runs from Cape Palmas in Liberia to Cape Lopez in Gabon (IHO Special Publication 23, Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd ed. (1953), #34).

The Gulf derives its name from the former names of the coasts of Africa. The south coast of West Africa, north of the Gulf of Guinea, was historically called "Upper Guinea." The west coast of Southern Africa, to the east, was historically called "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.

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.

The Niger River in particular deposited organic sediments out to sea over millions of years which became crude oil. The Gulf of Guinea region, along with the Congo River delta and Angola further south, are expected to provide around a quarter of the United States' oil imports by 2015. This region is now regarded as one of the world's top oil and gas exploration hotspots.^{[citation needed]}

Donate to Wikimedia