Fogo, Cape Verde

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Fogo
Image
caption
Elevation:9,821 ft (2,829 m)
Latitude:14.95 (14° 57' 0') N
Longitude:24.35 (24° 21' 0') W
Location:Cape Verde Islands
Range: Pico do Fogo
Type:Stratovolcano

Fogo (Portuguese for "fire") is a volcanic island in the Sotavento group of Cape Verde. It is the most prominent of the group, rising to nearly 3,000 m (10,000 ft) above sea level at Mount Fogo.

The volcano has been historically active, last erupting in 1995, forming a new crater called Pico Pequeno. Its largest feature is a 9 km wide caldera, which has walls 1 km high. The caldera has a breach in its eastern rim, and a large peak rises in the centre. The central cone Pico forms the highest point of the island and its summit is about 100 m higher than the surrounding wall of the caldera. Lava from the volcano has reached the eastern coast of the island within historical times.

A small village, called Chã das Caldeiras, exists at the base of the volcano, and the residents are periodically evacuated during eruptions.

The island's main town is São Filipe, near which is the airport. First settled in the 1480s, it is largely an agricultural island. The islands also houses schools, a gymnasium, banks, a post office, some hotels and squares praças.

Contents

Geography

  • Area: 476 km²
  • Population: around 40,000 1991, 37,409 2001
  • Capital: São Filipe (pop: 5,615 2001)
  • Location:

Its geography is includes fertile land to the southwest with the slope of about 10 to 15 angle. The north and the east are slopey. The entire island is a seamount and is called the Cadamosto Seamount and the depths range as deep as 5,300 m with a distance of 5 km from the shoreline. The exception is to the west but is connected with another seamount but further west in Brava.

The slopes in the northeastern part are green and grassy all-year round. The rest of the mountain are dry and barren. As the southernmost island, Fogo receives the most precipitation in Cape Verde. The creeks and streams are dry all-year round. The town has Classic Portuguese colonial architecture in buildings. Mosteiros is the second most important centre in the northeast.

A violent eruption took place in 1680 that the mountain of the island was visible over hundreds of kilometres and lasted for a few yearslighthouse. Hence the name Fogo originate.

Municipalities

Parishes and Settlements

Languages

Other than Portuguese, the Fogo Creole (Crioulo di Djarfogo) of the Capeverdean Crioulo is spoken on the island.

Persons

History

Fogo was discovered in 1460 by an Italian captain António da Noli and was first called São Filipe meaning Saint Philip in Portuguese.

The noble persons from Portugal was settled in 1500. Emigration occurred which started from 1850 which many people left for North America. The island used to have slavery. The civil revolution occurred in Portugal in 1910 and took aristocrack to large owners and left civilians behind. A small museum facilitates the understanding of the connections in descriptive ways.

Economics

The main economy of the island is based in agriculture and coffee is the main production along with wineries and fishing being one of the main productions. Trading along with private households lives off from income from emigrants. Cape Verdean residents that live in North America send some money to their relatives in the island even if senders and receivers that no longer know each other. Tourism is slowly becoming popular. Most of the tourists are traders and are oriented in culture and history and not in beaches. Tourism is common beside the historic São Filipe and Chã das Caldeiras. It also serves overnight accommodations before the ascent to the Pico.

External links

Islands and Island Groups of Cape Verde
Island Groups
Barlavento | Sotavento

Islands of Cape Verde

Boa Vista | Branco | Brava | Fogo | Maio | Razo | Sal | Santa Luzia | Santiago | Santo Antão | São Nicolau | São Vicente

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