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São Domingos, Cape Verde

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São Domingos
Map
--> Cape Verde-Sao Domingos.png
Statistics
Island: Santiago
Seat: São Domingos
Area: 137.6 km²
Population: 13,305 (2001)
Population density: about 96.69/km²
Elevation:
Lowest:
Centre:
Highest:
Atlantic Ocean
about 100 m
Pico do Antónia
: CV-SD
Website: [www.gtm-santiago.cv/saodomingos_2.htm]

São Domingos (Portuguese meaning Saint Dominic) is the youngest and smallest of the Cape Verdean municipalities, having been until recently a subset of the Praia concelho. The São Domingos municipality was formed primarily to relieve the Camara Muncipal da Praia of the administrative difficulties involved in managing both a large capital city (Praia) in addition to agrarian villages.

The São Domingos concelho includes two roads, one of which was widened to three lanes and paved in 2004. The two major settlements in the concelho are São Domingos and Praia Baixo, São Domingos (pop: 13,000) being by far the largest settlement in the area. Smaller settlements surround the area include Agua do Gato, Banana and the Rui Vaz, which is situated on the edge of a 1 km high cliff overlooking Ribeirao Galinha. While Rui Vaz and Praia Baixo are the main tourist draws in the area, tourism does not constitute a major factor in the region's overwhelmingly agrarian economy.

Farmlands cover the eastern and the central parts, where runoff from the center of the island allows a higher water table and loamier soils than the dense clays found on most of the island.

Mountains dominate the western border, where the steep relief and lack of rainwater runoff makes large-scale agriculture impractical. Several dozen subsistence farming villages dot the main road leading towards Assomada, but produce negligible agricultural products for export.

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