Dog Island (Gambia)

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Dog Iceland is a small inland island in the Gambia River in the West African nation of Gambia.

Geography

Today uninhabited, is about thirteen miles from the mouth of the Gambia in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 310 meters long and 110 meters wide, oval-shaped island. Dog Iceland is located approximately 150 meters from the north shore of the mainland (North Bank Region) located at the Iceland Dog Point and can be reached at low tide on foot.

The island was named after the roar of the baboons, reminiscent of far a bit of a dog barking. Nowadays some boat trips from Banjul to the level of Dog Iceland for tourism, where you can observe numerous dolphins that live in the mouth of the Gambia.

History

In the history of the Gambia was the English Major and later Admiral Robert Holmes, who wanted to protect the trading activities of the Company of Royal Adventurers Trading, set up there in the beginning of the 1660s to Dog Iceland a fort. He called the island Charles Iceland, in honor of King Charles II.

When Captain Alexander Grant from the Royal African Corps 1816, the island of St. Mary's Iceland leased and there had built a military base around which the settlement Bathurst, today's capital Banjul arose, stones and wood of Dog Iceland were used for construction.