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Discover CAPE VERDE: An African archipelago known as a dream destination | 10 INTERESTING FACTS ABOU
An archipelago known as a dream destination, Cape Verde is formed of ten islands. This small island state is located off the coast of West Africa, in the Atlantic Ocean. Discovered in the 1450s, Cape Verde held many mysteries! Since then, this country is populated and has developed a culture that is waiting to be discovered.
As soon as the islands were discovered by the Portuguese navigators, they served as an important trading place. Indeed, Cape Verde was a land where slaves circulated and were picked up by boat. It was
also a place to get supplies, when the sailors needed to make a stopover, for example. Moreover, the archipelago offered important resources at the time, such as coal. Finally, the last center of interest for Cape Verde, at the time, was the maritime fauna. Whaling was a widespread and often practiced activity around Cape Verde, which represented an economic advantage in the past. The country was thus marked by exploitation and lost this dynamic from the 19th century, when slavery was abolished. Despite this, the archipelago remained under the control of the Portuguese nation until 1975, when it gained independence after decolonization.
Of all the islands of the archipelago, Santiago is the one with the largest surface and the largest population. Conversely, the most populated island in the country is Santiago, which we will discuss in the second fact. If we are really interested in the civilian population of Cape Verde, it is necessary to know that this country is inhabited by 555,000 inhabitants. Among all this population, which is moreover varied between ethnic groups of Africa and Europe, 274 000 populate Santiago! This represents almost half of the population concentrated in one island! After all, the island of Santiago has an area of 991 square kilometers. That's where the capital, the city of Praia, is located. This place is a capital worthy of the name, since it meets all possible needs! It is both the port for ferry boats arriving on the island, as well as the country's international airport!
When talking about Cape Verde, it is imperative to talk about its natural heritage, and more specifically its geology. These islands contain pearls of nature! For example, the Pico do Fogo is the highest peak of Cape Verde, and culminates at 2 829 meters of altitude. This peak is a stratovolcano, which means that it is a volcano formed from several layers of dried lava, stones and ashes. As its name indicates, it is located on the island of Fogo. Its activity began about 20 million years ago, and it is still active today! Its last eruption was from November 2014 to February 2015. During these 77 consecutive days, it was more than a hundred million tons of lava that flowed, destroying two villages. Other geological events are remarkable in Cape Verde. One thinks in particular of the crater named Pedra de Lume, which measures approximately 1.8 kilometers in diameter! This last one bears its name badly, because it is not a crater, but an extinct volcano. And since it is located near the coast, the water ended up sleeping in and forming salt ponds.
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Published Oct 10, 2023
