Kaolack (Arabic: كاولاك; Wolof: Kawlax) is a town with a population of 298,904 (2023 census) on the north bank of the Saloum River about 100 kilometres (62 mi) from its mouth and the N1 road in Senegal.

Originally marked by a sacred tree on the right bank of the Saloum River facing the island of Kouyong, Kahone consisted of a number of distinct neighborhoods separated by open fields, each under the jurisdiction of a different dignitary or official.

By mid-century, peanut production had been introduced to the kingdom of Saloum and, with the permission of its king, a fortified factory was established by the French on the riverfront at Kaolack, more favorably placed for shipping than Kahone.

[citation needed] It is at this time that Kaolack became an important center for the Tijaniyyah Sufi order, with Allaaji Abdulaay Ñas [fr] opening a first major zâwiyah, or “lodge”, in the Leona neighborhood in 1910.

[4] Today, there is a peanut oil processing plant with its own port facilities in the downstream suburb of Lyndiane, while salt pans across the Saloum river constitute the city’s only other major industrial activity.