Sal, Cape Verde
Encyclopedia : S : SA : SAL : Sal, Cape Verde
| Sal - Cape Verde | |
|---|---|
| |
| Area: | 216 km² |
| Habitants: | 14,816 habitants |
| Density: | 68 hab/km² |
| Highest Point: | 406 m, Monte Vermelho |
| Length: | 30 km from north to south |
| Width: | 12 km from east to west |
| Main Town: | Espargos, 8,000 habitantes (5,877 in town) |
| Municipalities: | Sal |
| Latitude: | between +16° 35′ and +16° 51′ N |
| Longitude: | between -22° 52′ and -23° 00′ W |
| Location: | Barlavento group, east from São Nicolau and north from Boa Vista |
| Mountains: | none. |
Sal (Portuguese for "salt" -- from the mines at Pedra de Lume) is an island in the archipelago of Cape Verde, and the municipality of the same name. The island is around 30 km long by 12 km wide. It belongs to the northern group of islands, called Barlavento and is one of the three sandy, plane eastern islands (Sal, Boavista and Maio) of the archipelago, with beautiful white sandy beaches and hardly any elevation. Sal's highest elevation is Monte Grande, at 406 m. Another mountain is Serra Negra with an elevation no higher than 92 m. The island was discovered on December 3, 1460 and was named Llana until salt deposits were found. Sal is the oldest island in Cape Verde, formed 50 million years ago during the eruption of a volcano which is now inactive.
Sal's main town, Vila dos Espargos, is home to one of the nation's international airports and has around 8,000 inhabitants. Its population grew around salt collection and later shifted to fishing, but is now based on tourism (amounting to 50% of the archipelago's tourism) at the beach resort of Santa Maria.
Its airport was first used as refuelling base by South African Airways on its Johannesburg to London routes. Later, flights to and from New York and Atlanta also refuelled there, and the island was a crew-change station as well. SAA established the long runways needed by the fully-fueled Boeing 707's on their take-offs in the high temperatures, even at night. On July 1 , 2006, SAA operated its final flight to Sal due the ending of its flights to Atlanta.
Saline marshes are used especially in the Pedra Lume crater and one north of Santa Maria.
Climate
Sal Island enjoys 350 days of sunshine. Winds mainly blow from the northwest.
Administration
The island has only one parish, named Nossa Senhora das Dores.
Transportation
The major roads on the island are:
- Santa Maria - Espargos Road (paved)
- Palmeira - Espargos Road (narrowly paved)
- Pedra de Lume - Espargos Road (paved)
- Espargos - Reguinho Fiúra Road (unpaved)
Places
There are six habitational centers:- *Pedra de Lume, on the eastern coast, is the most ancient, and the home of the first salt workers. Today it is only a small village with very few inhabitants.
- *Palmeira is a fishing village, built around a port situated on the opposite coast of the island. It is also a small village but it is currently growing.
- *Espargos (5,758 for the town, 8,000 including Hortelão and Preguiça) is the main urban center and is situated between Pedra de Lume and Palmeira. It was formed around the international airport named after Amilcar Cabral (IATA airport code SID) located in the heart of the island.
- *Terra Boa is the only place on the island where you can find agriculture on a large scale, as the island, and the others mentioned above, are very dry, mainly because they have no mountains to induce rainfall. This place is situated north of Espargos.
- *Murdeira is a tourist resort, which has recently experienced great growth, with many people buying houses there.
- *Finally, there's Santa Maria (pop: 1,367), which was a former salt working village but is now the tourism center of the island and one of the most important (if not the most important) touristical points in the country.
- *Feijoal situated 1 km west of Pedra de Lume.
- *Fontona located south of Palmeira.
- *Reguinho Fiúra a remote village located near its lighthouse and overlooking Ponta Norte, the island's northernmost point.
Persons
- Manuel di Candinho, a Capeverdean singer
- Yass-Yass, a Capeverdean singer
Sporting teams
- Académica (Espargos) - Espargos
- Santa Maria
External links
- [caboverde.com] (also in English)
- [Municipality of Sal]
- [ANMCV]
- [Maps by Lucete Fortes]
- [University of Massachusetts] - information and images from Sal
| Islands of Cape Verde |
|
|---|---|
| Island Groups | |
| Barlavento | Sotavento | |
| Islands | |
| Boa Vista | Branco | Brava | Fogo | Maio | Razo | Sal | Santa Luzia | Santiago | Santo Antão | São Nicolau | São Vicente |
| Municipalities of Cape Verde |
| Municipalities Boa Vista | Brava | Maio | Mosteiros | Paul | Porto Novo | Praia | Ribeira Grande | Sal | Santa Catarina | Santa Cruz | São Domingos | São Filipe | São Miguel | São Nicolau | São Vicente | Tarrafal |
| New municipalities (as of 2005) Ribeira Grande de Santiago | Santa Catarina do Fogo | São Lourenço dos Órgãos | São Salvador do Mundo | Tarrafal de São Nicolau |
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