Situated on the Atlantic Coast at The Bulge of West Africa, The Gambia has an area of some 4,000 square miles (10,360 square kilometers) extending eastward from the sea for some 300 miles (480 kilometers) along both banks of The River Gambia.
Near the mouth of The River, the country is over 30 miles (48 kilometers) wide but further upriver the width diminishes to 15 miles (24 kilometers).

On the Coast, it meets the Atlantic with impressive sand cliffs and sports miles of unspoiled palm fringed beaches. It borders with the Republic of Senegal on the landward sides.

The country is mostly a low plateau which decreases in height as it nears the Atlantic Coast. The plain is broken in a few places by low flat-topped hills and The River Gambia and its tributaries.

The area extending from MacCarthy Island, where Georgetown is located, to the Eastern end of the country is enclosed by low rocky hills which appear to be volcanic.

The soil, especially in the Kuntaur District, is clay along the Banks of The River, but elsewhere are alluvial soils, red, brown and gray sands, some gravel and isolated ironstone rocks.

The Coast and River Banks consist largely of Mangrove swamps, and the lower part of the River has steep banks which are covered with tropical forest, Bamboo being characteristic.

Away from the River, there is wooded grassland, for the Gambia is in the Savannah Region of West Africa.

The country's narrow width and the large River that drains it have, however, given it more of a parkland look, with large areas covered by a variety of trees such as Mahogany, Rosewood, Oil Palm and Rubber.

The Forestry Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, in addition to carrying out conservation measures, also does a brisk trade in local woods.