Andrew Franklin, age 13, of Vancouver, Wash., for his question:
WHERE IS THE GAMBIA?
The Gambia is the name of a small African country that is located on the northwestern coast of Africa. It is famous because of its unusual shape: It is about 300 miles long, extending into Africa's interior along both sides of the Gambia River, but it is only between 15 and 30 miles wide.
On the Gambia's western side is the Atlantic Ocean. All of its land boundaries are formed by the Republic of Senegal, which surrounds the Gambia.
The Gambia is part of the Commonwealth of Nations. At one time it was a British colony and later it became a protectorate. As a colony, it covered only 30 square miles. It included St. Mary's Island at the mouth of the Gambia River and a small area of land on the banks of the rivet.
When the country became independent in 1970 and declared itself a republic, the head of state became the president. A parliament was elected and was headed by the ruling monarch of the United Kingdom.
The Gambia's capital city is Banjul, located on St. Mary's Island. At one time it was called Bathurst. The nation's history goes back to the 15th Century, when the Gambia River was discovered by Portuguese explorers. They elected not to settle in the area, however.
British traders started to make visits to the area in the 17th Century and a fortification, called Fozt James, was built by them on an island near the river's mouth in 1660.
For the next 150 years both the English and the French struggled for the control of the area. The 1814 Treaty of Faris recognized British rule.
Most of the Gambia's population is made up of farmers. Rice is grown in the swampy areas along the upper and middle pasts of the river, but peanuts are the country's most important crop. The peanuts are grown on the higher ground in the eastern, or interior part, of the country.
A most interesting development comes up each year in the Gambia's fields. About 10,000 people, known as "stranger farmers," come to the Gambia from nearby republics and they help to grow peanuts. After the crop has been harvested, the visitors return to their own countries.
Shelled peanuts account for about 65 percent of the exports from the Gambia annually. Many of the peanuts are exported between December and March from waterfront towns along the riverbanks.
The peanuts are shipped down the river to its mouth. Then, during the wet season that runs from about April to September, the temporary villages disappear because they are flooded.
Other exports from the Gambia include peanut oil, peanut cake (used as cattle feed), beeswax, hides, skins and palm kernels.
Most of the people of the Gambia are black and the majority are members of the Muslim faith.