:''For other uses of Fogo, see
Fogo''
'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''.
Geography
★ Area: 476 km²
★ Population: around 40,000 ''1991'', 37,409 ''2001''
★ Capital: São Filipe (pop: 5,615 ''2001'')
★ Location:
★
★ Group of
Sotavento
★
★ West of
Santiago
★
★ East of
Brava
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. 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.
Municipalities
★
São Filipe
★
Mosteiros
Parishes and Settlements
★
Achada, also Achada Furnas
★
Achada Grande
★
Atalaia
★
Bangaeira
★
Chã das Caldeiras
★
Cova Figueira
★
Coxo
★
Curral Grande
★
Estancía Roque
★
Fajãzinha
★
Figueira Pavão
★
Fonsaco
★
Fonte Aleixo
★
Furna
★
Galinheiros
★
Lomba
★
Monte Grande
★
Mosteiros
★
Patim
★
Ponta Verde
★
Ribeira Ilhéu
★
Salto
★
Santo António
★
São Filipe
★
São Jorge
★
São Lourenço
★
Vicente Dias
Languages
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.
Persons
★
Henrique Teixeira de Sousa
★
Ana Procópio
★
Pedro Monteiro Cardoso
★
Andreino Ginelson Rodrigues
History
Fogo was discovered in
1460 by an
Italian captain
António 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 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 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 town of São Filipe and
Chã das Caldeiras in the volcanic crater receive the bulk of visitors.
Sporting teams
★
ABC de Patim
★
Académica
★
Botafogo - São Filipe
★
Cutelinho FC
★
Desportivo de Cova Figueira
★
Juventude
★
Nó Pintcha dos Mosteiros
★
Spartak
★
União de São Lourenço
★
Vulcânicos - São Filipe
References
External links
★
Informations and impressions from Fogo
★
caboverde.com
★
University of Massachusetts - information and images from Fogo
★
Photos of Fogo
★ 'Map and aerial photos'
★
★
Street map from Mapquest
★
★
Aerial photograph from Microsoft Terraserver