Sal, Cape Verde
Encyclopedia
Sal is an island in Cape Verde
. It belongs to the northern group of islands, called Barlavento. The island is composed by a single administrative division, the Sal municipality. The island is home to Amílcar Cabral International Airport
, the main airport of Cape Verde.
and Maio
) of the archipelago
, with white sandy beaches and fairly flat. The highest elevation of 406 m is at Monte Grande. Serra Negra
has a height of 92 m.
a year. Winds mainly blow from the northeast. However, many days do also have cloud, but it tends to be broken and seldom brings rain. The 'rainy season' is from August to mid-October, although rainfall is still low.
s 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, Amilcar Cabral International Airport
, was used as a refuelling base by South African Airways
on its Johannesburg
to London
routes. This was necessitated by the refusal of Black African states to the North to grant overflying permission and direct routing to and from Europe. Later, flights to and from New York
and Atlanta
also refuelled there, and the island was a crew-change station. SAA established the long runways needed by the fully fueled Boeing 707
s on their take-offs in the high temperatures. On July 1, 2006, SAA operated its final flight to Sal due to the ending of its flights to Atlanta.
Saline marshes can be found in the Pedra de Lume crater and north of Santa Maria.
Other inhabited settlements are:
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
. It belongs to the northern group of islands, called Barlavento. The island is composed by a single administrative division, the Sal municipality. The island is home to Amílcar Cabral International Airport
Amilcar Cabral International Airport
Amílcar Cabral International Airport , also known as Sal International Airport or Amílcar Cabral Airport, is the principal international airport of Cape Verde. The airport is named after the revolutionary leader Amílcar Cabral....
, the main airport of Cape Verde.
Geography
The island is 30 km long by 12 km wide. It is one of the three sandy eastern islands (Sal, Boa VistaBoa Vista, Cape Verde
Boa Vista is the easternmost island of Cape Verde. It is located in the Barlavento group of the archipelago. The island is known for marine turtles and traditional music, as well as its ultramarathon and its sand dunes and beaches...
and Maio
Maio, Cape Verde
Maio is the easternmost of the Sotavento islands of Cape Verde. Maio is located south of the islands of Boa Vista and east of Santiago. The island is also known for its large forest, which is unusual for Cape Verde.-Geography:The island covers an area of 269 km²...
) of the archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
, with white sandy beaches and fairly flat. The highest elevation of 406 m is at Monte Grande. Serra Negra
Serra Negra, Cape Verde
Serra Negra is a mountain in the southcentral part of the island of Sal in Cape Verde. The small mountain range runs from southwest to northeast and its length is nearly 1.5 to 2 km and the width is between 500 and 600 m.-Geography and Information:...
has a height of 92 m.
Climate
Sal Island has on average 350 days of sunshineSunlight
Sunlight, in the broad sense, is the total frequency spectrum of electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun. On Earth, sunlight is filtered through the Earth's atmosphere, and solar radiation is obvious as daylight when the Sun is above the horizon.When the direct solar radiation is not blocked...
a year. Winds mainly blow from the northeast. However, many days do also have cloud, but it tends to be broken and seldom brings rain. The 'rainy season' is from August to mid-October, although rainfall is still low.
History
The island was discovered on December 3, 1460 and named Llana until salt deposits were found. Sal is the geologically oldest island in Cape Verde, formed 50 million years ago during the eruption of a volcano which is now inactive.Economy
Sal’s main town, Vila dos Espargos, is home to one of the nation’s international airportAirport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
s and has around 8,000 inhabitants. Its population grew around salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
collection and later shifted to fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, but is now based on tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
(amounting to 50% of the archipelago’s tourism) at the beach resort of Santa Maria
Santa Maria, Cape Verde
Santa Maria is a fishing city situated in the southern part of the island municipality of Sal, Cape Verde. The city is the third largest in Cape Verde and is one of the few that it is larger than the municipal capital...
.
Its airport, Amilcar Cabral International Airport
Amilcar Cabral International Airport
Amílcar Cabral International Airport , also known as Sal International Airport or Amílcar Cabral Airport, is the principal international airport of Cape Verde. The airport is named after the revolutionary leader Amílcar Cabral....
, was used as a refuelling base by South African Airways
South African Airways
South African Airways is the national flag carrier and largest airline of South Africa, with headquarters in Airways Park on the grounds of OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. The airline flies to 36 destinations worldwide from its hub at OR Tambo International...
on its Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
routes. This was necessitated by the refusal of Black African states to the North to grant overflying permission and direct routing to and from Europe. Later, flights to and from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
also refuelled there, and the island was a crew-change station. SAA established the long runways needed by the fully fueled Boeing 707
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
s on their take-offs in the high temperatures. On July 1, 2006, SAA operated its final flight to Sal due to the ending of its flights to Atlanta.
Saline marshes can be found in the Pedra de Lume crater and north of Santa Maria.
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)
Settlements
There are six inhabited 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 is growing. Palmeira is also home to the island of Sal's port.
- EspargosEspargosEspargos is the capital city of the island municipality of Sal, Cape Verde and is also in the heart of the island. Espargos means "asparagus" and refers to the wild vegetable asparagus stalk with its bright yellow flowers which grows in sandy areas around the island...
(pop: 6,173 (2005)) for the town, 8,000 including Hortelã 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 CabralAmílcar CabralAmílcar Lopes da Costa Cabral was a Guinea-Bissauan and Cape Verdean agricultural engineer, writer, and a nationalist thinker and politician. Also known by his nom de guerre Abel Djassi, Cabral led the nationalist movement of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde Islands and the ensuing war of independence...
(IATA airport codeIATA airport codeAn IATA airport code, also known an IATA location identifier, IATA station code or simply a location identifier, is a three-letter code designating many airports around the world, defined by the International Air Transport Association...
SID) located in the heart of the island. - Terra Boa is the only place on the island where agriculture can be found on a large scale, as the island is very dry, mainly because it has no mountains to induce rainfall. This place is situated north of Espargos.
- MurdeiraMurdeiraMurdeira is a village in the southcentral part of the island of Sal. The village is about 8 km south of Espargos and around 9 km north of Santa Maria...
is a tourist resort, which is growing in population. - Santa MariaSanta Maria, Cape VerdeSanta Maria is a fishing city situated in the southern part of the island municipality of Sal, Cape Verde. The city is the third largest in Cape Verde and is one of the few that it is larger than the municipal capital...
(pop: 20,114 (2008), which was a former salt working village, is now the tourism center of the island.
Other inhabited settlements are:
- Feijoal, 1 km west of Pedra de Lume.
- Fontona, south of Palmeira.
- Reguinho Fiúra, a remote village near a lighthouse and overlooking Ponta Norte, the island's northernmost point.
Demography
| Population of Sal, Cape Verde (1940—2010) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 |
| 1121 | 1838 | 2608 | 5505 | 5826 | 7715 | 14816 | 26000 |
People
- Josh Angulo - professional windsurfer
- Jorge Pedro Barbosa - Poet and lyricist.
- Ildo LoboIldo LoboIldo Lobo was a famous Cape Verdean singer. His versatile and melodic voice, commanding stage presence and trademark beret hats made him one of the all time great performers of Cape Verde...
– musician