Fogo, Cape Verde

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Fogo
Native name: Dja r’ Fogu
Nickname: Ilha do vulcão (island of the volcano)
Bela-vista-net-Fogo-map.jpg
Geography
Location Atlantic Ocean
Coordinates 14°55′59″N 24°22′59″W / 14.933°N 24.383°W / 14.933; -24.383
Area 476 km2 (183.8 sq mi)
Highest elevation 2,829 m (9,281 ft)
Highest point Pico do Fogo
Country
Cape Verde
Concelhos (Municipalities) Mosteiros, Santa Catarina do Fogo, São Filipe
Largest city São Filipe (pop. Sao Filipe)
Demographics
Population 55,000
Fogo is located in Atlantic Ocean
Fogo
Location of Fogo Island in the Atlantic Ocean

Fogo (Portuguese for "fire") is an 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 Pico do Fogo.

Contents

Geography [edit]

The island is located between the islands of Santiago and Brava. Practically the whole island is an active volcano that has been periodically 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 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 within the caldera of the volcano, and the residents are periodically evacuated during eruptions.

The island's main city is São Filipe, near which is an 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).

Fogo has fertile land in the southwest with a slope of about 10 to 15 degrees. The north and the east are steep. The island rises abruptly from the ocean, which can be as deep as 5,300 m at a distance of 5 km from the shoreline. The exception is to the west, where the island is connected to another seamount; further west in Brava.

The slopes in the northeastern part are green and grassy all-year round. The rest of the mountain is dry and barren. One of the southernmost islands in Cape Verde, Fogo receives the most precipitation. The creeks and streams are dry all-year round.

São Filipe's buildings use classic Portuguese colonial architecture. Mosteiros in the northeast is the island's second most important town.

A violent eruption took place in 1680. The mountain of the island was visible over hundreds of kilometres and lasted for a few years. It was during this eruption that the island earned its name.

  • Main ash cone of Pico do Fogo,
    called Pico Grande
  • 3-D image of the island of Fogo from NNE.
  • Natural colour satellite image of Fogo.
  • Chã das Caldeiras and main ash cone, Fogo. NASA satellite image, 2009.
  • Aerial shot taken from an Airbus cockpit
  • Aerial shot taken from an Airbus cockpit

Flora [edit]

Endemic plants in the garden of the Museu Municipal in São Filipe.
Losma, an endemic medical plant.

There are various endemic plants on Fogo:[1]

History [edit]

Fogo was discovered in 1460 by a Genovese captain António Noli and was first called São Filipe meaning Saint Philip in Portuguese.

The Portuguese settled the island in 1500. The island used to have slavery. Emigration started in 1850, mainly to North America. The 1910 civil revolution in Portugal drew aristocracy and large landowners back to Portugal and left civilians behind. A small museum on Fogo explains many of these connections.

There was also an eruption in 1995

Economy [edit]

The economy of the island is based on agriculture and fishing, with coffee and wine among the main products. Many private households live off remittances from emigrants in the US and other countries as the island has a substantial diaspora. Many emigrants send some money to their relatives in the island even if the senders and receivers no longer know each other. Tourism is steadily becoming popular. The volcano is the island's major attraction but many visitors also come to see relatives. The historic city of São Filipe and Chã das Caldeiras in the volcanic crater receive the bulk of visitors.

Municipalities [edit]

Parishes and Settlements [edit]

Languages [edit]

As in the rest of Cape Verde, Portuguese is the official language but in daily life people speak the Fogo dialect of Cape Verdean Creole.

Notable residents [edit]

Sporting teams [edit]

Main article: Fogo Island League

References [edit]

  1. ^ Reitmeier, Pitt: Cabo Verde, p.385. Bielefeld 2009.

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fogo (Cape Verde)
Island groups
Cape Verde
Islands
Islets

Coordinates: 14°55′59″N 24°22′59″W / 14.933°N 24.383°W / 14.933; -24.383

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