Sassandra is the chief town in Sassandra Department

Sassandra Department

Sassandra Department is one of the departments of Côte d'Ivoire. It is one of four departments of Bas-Sassandra Region.* Sassandra...

 of Côte d'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire

The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...

. The department is located in Bas-Sassandra Region. The town of Sassandra lies on the Gulf of Guinea

Gulf of Guinea

The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean between Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian is in the gulf....

 at the mouth of the Sassandra River

Sassandra River

The Sassandra River is a river of western Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa. It is formed by the confluence of the Tienba River, which originates in the highlands of northwestern Côte d'Ivoire, and the Gouan River , which originates to the west in the highlands of Guinea...

. The town was founded by the Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 as Santo André and was later run by the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, then the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 as a seaport for timber

Timber

Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...

. The town declined in the 1960s after San Pédro

San Pédro

San Pédro is a city in southwestern Côte d'Ivoire. It is the nation’s second largest port, the center of the San Pédro Department, and the capital of the Bas-Sassandra Region. It has a population of 131,800...

's port was completed. Its main industry is now fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

.

Sassandra is known for its beach

Beach

A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...

es and lighthouse

Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....

, while the Gaoulou National Park lies nearby. It is served by Sassandra Airport

Sassandra Airport

Sassandra Airport is an airport serving Sassandra in Côte d'Ivoire....

.

External links

Neyo project : Collaborative project on culture and language of Neyo people, from Sassandra (Côte d'Ivoire)

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