Sal (Portuguese for "

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quanti ...

") is an island in

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

. Sal is a tourist destination with white sandy beaches and over 350 days of sunshine a year. It is one of the three sandy eastern islands of the Cape Verde archipelago in the central Atlantic Ocean, off the west coast of Africa. Cabo Verde is known for year-round kiteboarding, for the large reserve of Caretta turtles which hatch from July to September, and the music of Cesaria Evora.

History

For Europeans , the island was discovered on 3 December 1460 and named ''Llana'' ("flat"). This name was changed into the current "Sal" when the two large salt ponds ( Pedra de Lume and Santa Maria) were discovered. The first three centuries after its discovery, the island was only sparsely inhabited; in 1720 there was a small fishing village near present Palmeira. This changed when the salt industry was developed at the end of the 18th century, starting in Pedra de Lume. Santa Maria was founded in the south of the island in 1830 by

Manuel António Martins Manuel António Martins (1772 in Braga-1845) was a Portuguese businessman and colonial governor of Cape Verde and Portuguese Guinea from 1834 to 1835. Martins was said to be the richest man in the country and nicknamed the Napoleon of the Cape Ver ...

. During this time the salt industry thrived, with 30,000 tons of salt being exported in the early years. Most of the salt was exported to Brazil until its nationalization in 1887, Portuguese and French salt investors resumed salt production until 1984. In 1939 Italy started constructing an airport to receive flights from Europe and South America. Construction was halted and ceased around

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The Portuguese bought the airport from the Italians and finished it in 1949. Northeast of the airport, workers from São Nicolau Island settled in a village named Preguiça, now part of Espargos. Hurricane Fred struck the island of Sal in late summer 2015, causing damage to houses, tourist facilities and ships.

Geography

The island is 29.7 km long and 11.8 km wide.Cabo Verde, Statistical Yearbook 2015

Instituto Nacional de Estatística Instituto Nacional de Estatística (Portuguese for "National Institute for Statistics") may refer to: * Instituto Nacional de Estatística (Cape Verde) - the national statistical agency of Cape Verde * Instituto Nacional de Estatística (Mozambique) ...

Its area is .2010 Census Summary
/ref> It is one of the three sandy eastern islands (Sal, Boa Vista and Maio) of the

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

, with white sandy beaches. The island is fairly flat; its highest point is Monte Grande, at 406 m elevation. The uninhabited islet

Ilhéu Rabo de Junco Ilhéu Rabo de Junco is an uninhabited islet near the west coast of Sal Island, Cape Verde. It lies about from the coast. It is long and wide, its shoreline is about long. It is the only islet near the island of Sal. Baía da Murdeira lies to ...

lies near the west coast of Sal. Saline marshes can be found in the '' Pedra de Lume'' crater and north of Santa Maria.

Climate

Sal Island has on average 350 days of sunshine a year. Winds mainly blow from the northeast. However, some days do also have clouds, but they tend to be scattered and seldom bring rain. The 'rainy season' is from July to mid-October, although rainfall is still low.

Municipality

Administratively, the island of Sal is covered by one municipality, ''

Concelho Concelho () is the Portuguese-language term for municipality, referring to the territorial subdivision in local government. In comparison, the word ''município'' () refers to the organs of State. This differentiation is still in use in Portugal ...

do Sal''. This municipality consists of one ''

freguesia ''Freguesia'' (), usually translated as " parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former ...

'' (civil parish), ''Nossa Senhora das Dores'', which also covers the whole island. The municipality of Sal was created in 1935, when it was separated from the Municipality of Boa Vista. The municipal seat was originally at Santa Maria, but Espargos became the municipal seat in the 1970s. The ''freguesia'' is subdivided into the following settlements: * Espargos (city) * Murdeira * Palmeira (town) * Pedra de Lume * Santa Maria (city) * Terra Boa

Politics

Since 2016, the Movement for Democracy (MpD) is the ruling party of the municipality. The results of the latest elections, in 2016:Official results local elections 2016
''Boletim Oficial I Série, Número 53'', 23 September 2016

Demographics

As of 1832, the population was estimated at 400 people. Until 1960, it was the least populous island of the nine inhabited islands of Cape Verde, with less than 3,000 inhabitants. Since then the population has been growing rapidly, reaching around 40,000 in 2019, which makes it the third most populous island in Cape Verde, after Santiago and São Vicente, and having overtaken Santo Antão and Fogo.Instituto Nacional de Estatistica, Cabo Verde (web).

Economy

Sal's main town, Espargos, is home to one of the nation's international airports. Tourism, focused on the area of Santa Maria, has replaced salt and fishing as the main source of income. In 2017, 48.2% of the country's available beds were on the island of Sal. The living standards on the island are among the best in the Cape Verde archipelago. The island's GDP per capita as of 2015 is 495,827

escudos The escudo ( Portuguese: 'shield') is a unit of currency historically used in Portugal and its colonies in South America, Asia, and Africa. It was originally worth 16 silver . The Cape Verdean escudo and the former Portuguese escudo (PTE), e ...

(4,497

euro The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

).Anuário Estatístico 2016

Infrastructure

The island is home to Amílcar Cabral International Airport, the busiest airport of Cape Verde. The main port of the island of Sal is at Palmeira. The main roads are: *Santa Maria - Espargos Road (

EN1-SL01 EN1-SL01 is a first class national road on the island of Sal, Cape Verde. It runs from Espargos to Santa Maria.

) *Palmeira - Espargos Road (EN1-SL02)

Sports

Football (soccer) is the chief sports on the island. It has the

Sal Regional Football Association The Sal Regional Football Association (Portuguese: ''Associação Regional de Futebol do Sal'', abbreviation: ''ARFS'') is a football (soccer) association covering the island of Sal. It is headquartered in the city of Espargos, the island capital ...

and its main competitions are the

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

and the Second Divisions. Its main clubs are Académica do Sal, Académico do Aeroporto, Juventude and SC Santa Maria. The island's main stadium is

Estádio Marcelo Leitão Estádio Marcelo Leitão is a multi-use stadium in Sal Island, Cape Verde. It is used mostly for football matches and now track and field and has a capacity of 8,000 people. It is named for Marcelo Leitão, one of the two main features on the i ...

situated southeast of Espargos's center and all regional matches are played. Also Basketball is the second most popular on the island as well as volleyball, they are played at Polidesportivo do Sal, Académico do Sal is the island's best basketball team. Futsal is also played. Also dominant particularly in the beaches the south of the island and its surrounding waters are surfing, windsurfing and kitesurfing, recently gained for about 25 years and becoming the most dominant in the nation in windsurfing and kitesurfing.

Twin towns - Sister cities

Sal is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: *

Cascais Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourist destination. Its mar ...

, Portugal * Desenzano del Garda, Italy * Grottammare, Italy * South Normanton, England

Notable residents

Maria Alice ''Maria Alice may also refer to a Portuguese fadista'' Maria Alice de Fátima Rocha Silva (born 23 October 1971), better known as Maria Alice, is a Cape Verdean singer. In 2017 she was condecorated with the Praia Government Merit Medal Biography ...

, singer * Carlos Andrade, basketball player * Rodirlei José Ascensão Duarte (Rody), footballer *

Elvis Évora Elvis Garcia Monteiro Évora (born 4 February 1978) is a Portuguese former basketball player who played as a center. He played for Porto, from 1998/1999 to 2004/2005. After a season at Tenerife, he moved back to Portugal, playing for Ovarense, ...

(Elvis), footballer *

Ana Firmino Ana Firmino (born 1953) is a Cape Verdean singer. She was born in 1953 on the island of Sal, but it was not until she was in her late 20s that she dedicated herself to a career in music. She has performed for many years in Cape Verde and Europe ...

, singer * Hermínia da Cruz Fortes, singer * Ildo Lobo, musician * Mirri Lobo, musician *

Ildo Augusto Dos Santos Lopes Fortes Ildo Augusto dos Santos Lopes Fortes (born 13 December 1964) is a Cape Verdean clergyman and the second and current bishop of Mindelo. Biography He was born in the island of Sal in Cape Verde, at the time under Portuguese rule. dos Santos Lope ...

, current bishop of Mindelo * 4BGSal Islands, artist *

Nelson Marcos Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, soccer player *

Basílio Ramos Basílio Mosso Ramos (born January 17, 1952) is a Cape Verdean politician who was the 5th president of the National Assembly of Cape Verde from 2011 to 2016. He came to politics as a PAICV member. He went to several European universities includ ...

, politician *

Héldon Ramos Héldon Augusto Almeida Ramos (born 14 November 1988), known simply as Héldon and sometimes nicknamed Nhuck (pronounced �uk, is a Cape Verdean professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder. He spent most of his career in Portug ...

(Héldon), footballer * Ruben Sança, athlete *

Dona Tututa Epifânia de Freitas Silva Ramos Évora, better known as Dona Tututa or Tututa Évora (January 6, 1919 – January 26, 2014) was a Cape Verdean composer and a pianist. She is considered one of Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , ...

, composer and pianist

Gallery

File:2014 Cape Verde. Sal. Hund Vid Färgad Dörr.jpg, A sleeping dog File:2014 Cape Verde. Sal. Saltkratern (2).JPEG, Salt evaporation pond in Volcanic crater ( Pedra de Lume) File:2014 Cape Verde. Sal. Fina Hus.jpg, Buildings in Santa Maria File:Cape Verde Sal Santa Maria shop.jpg, A souvenir shop in Santa Maria File:2014 Cape Verde. Sal. Gata.jpg, The Mainstreet in Santa Maria, Cabo Verde File:2014 Cape Verde. Sal. Stadsöversyn.JPG, Cityview over Espargos File:2014 Cape Verde. Sal. Kyrka.jpg,

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in Santa Maria File:2014 Cape Verde. Sal. Saltkratern (1).JPEG, Machinery in Volcanic crater, Pedra de Lume File:Lighthouse Sal.jpg, Ponta do Sinó lighthouse File:2014 Cape Verde. Sal. Baywatch.JPG, Lifeguard Tower File:2014 Cape Verde. Sal. Strand.jpg, Santa Maria Beach in the evening File:2014 Cap Verde. Sal. Blue Eye.JPG, Cave "Blue Eye" File:Sal Cape Verde Santa Maria house.jpg, Stores in Santa Maria File:Cape Verde Sal kitesurfing.jpg, Kiteboarding in Sal, Cape Verde File:Sal Island.jpg, Panorama taken at Palmeira harbour

References

External links

Official website of the Municipality of Sal

{{Authority control Islands of Cape Verde Municipalities of Cape Verde 1930s establishments in Cape Verde