Monte Gordo is a mountain on the island of São Nicolau,

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

. At 1,312 m elevation, it is the island's highest point. It is situated in the western part of the island, 6 km west of the island capital Ribeira Brava. The mountain is of

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

origin, less than 1 million years old. The boundary of the municipalities

Tarrafal de São Nicolau Tarrafal may refer to several locations in Cape Verde: * Tarrafal, Cape Verde, a town on the island of Santiago * Tarrafal, Cape Verde (municipality), a municipality on the island of Santiago * Tarrafal de São Nicolau, Cape Verde, a town on the ...

and Ribeira Brava runs over the mountain. It is part of the ''Monte Gordo Natural Park''.

Monte Gordo Natural Park

The ''Monte Gordo Natural Park'' (Portuguese: ''Parque Natural de Monte Gordo'')) has been created to protect the typical humid mountain ecosystem. It was established on February 24, 2003 and is category V by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

, The park area is 9.52 km².Resolução nº 36/2016
Estratégia e Plano Nacional de Negócios das Áreas Protegidas It is one of the few places in Cape Verde where the original vegetation has been preserved. Some of the higher parts of the site are forested, especially around Monte Gordo where relatively high rainfall and frequent misty conditions cause the trees to be thickly covered with lichens. The dominant vegetation in the park is forests of ''Pinus'', ''Eucalyptus'' and ''Cupressus'' species. Endemic plant species include ''

Euphorbia tuckeyana ''Euphorbia tuckeyana'' is a species of flowering plants of the family Euphorbiaceae. The species is endemic to Cape Verde.Oromí, Martín, Zurita & Cabrera, 2005 : Lista preliminar de especies silvestres de Cabo Verde: Hongos, Plantas y Animales ...

'', '' Nauplius smithii'', '' Echium stenosiphon'', '' Sonchus daltonii'', '' Aeonium gorgoneum'' and ''

Campanula jacobaea ''Campanula jacobaea'' is a species of flowering plants of the Campanulaceae family. The species is endemic to Cape Verde and is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. Its local name is ''contra-bruxas-azul'' ("blue against witches"). The plant is use ...

''.Plano de Gestão – Parque Natural Monte Gordo – S. Nicolau
/ref> Fauna includes the '' Chioninia nicolauensis'' (São Nicolau skink), Cape Verde wall gecko (''Tarentola caboverdiana''),

Fea's petrel The Fea's petrel (''Pterodroma feae'') is a small seabird in the gadfly petrel genus, '' Pterodroma''. It was previously considered to be a subspecies of the soft-plumaged petrel (''P. mollis''), but they are actually not closely related at al ...

(''Pterodroma feae'') and

Cape Verde warbler The Cape Verde warbler (''Acrocephalus brevipennis'') is an Old World warbler in the genus '' Acrocephalus''. It is also known as the Cape Verde cane warbler or Cape Verde swamp warbler, and in Creole as ''tchota-de-cana'' or ''chincherote'' (als ...

(''Acrocephalus brevipennis''). The site has been identified as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

References

{{Important Bird Areas of Cape Verde Gordo Geography of São Nicolau, Cape Verde Ribeira Brava, Cape Verde Tarrafal de São Nicolau

Monte Gordo Natural Park

See also

References