Santa Maria (

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

for

Saint Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

) is a cityCabo Verde, Statistical Yearbook 2015
Instituto Nacional de Estatística, p. 32-33 in the southern part of the island municipality of Sal,

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

. It is located on the south coast, about 16 km south of the

Amílcar Cabral International Airport Amílcar Cabral International Airport , also known as Sal International Airport, is the main international airport of Cape Verde. The airport is named after the revolutionary leader Amílcar Cabral. It is located two km west-southwest from Espa ...

, and 20 km south of the island capital

Espargos Espargos (Portuguese for "asparagus") is the capital and main commercial centre of the island and municipality of Sal, Cape Verde. The city

Cape Verde Sal Santa Maria square M Leitao

History

Santa Maria was founded in 1830 for the production of salt. Up to 30,000 tons of salt were shipped from Santa Maria each year. A pier was built in the area of Ponta de Vera Cruz and a small rail track was built to carry the salt to the pier. Most of the product was exported to Brazil, which was halted in 1887 when Brazil imposed a high tax on imported salt to protect its own salt production. The town went into a deep decline, only to recover in 1920 when a Portuguese investor resumed salt production. This continued until 1984. In 1935, Santa Maria was elevated from a village to a town. In 1967, Belgian industrialists and engineers Georges Vynckier and Marguerite Massart opened Cape Verde's first resort hotel named Morabeza. After 1986, tourism became an important industry on the island, and many resorts and hotels were built in the southern and southwestern coastal areas near Santa Maria. In 2017, 48.2% of the country's available beds were on the island of Sal. Sal SantaMaria

Historical population

Points of interest

*Praça Marcelo Leitão, the city's main square * Praia de Santa Maria, beach * Ponta de Vera Cruz, lighthouse * Santa Maria Saltpans, a protected landscape

Climate

Santa Maria has an arid climate. The highest mean temperature is in September with 27°C and its lowest is in January with 22°C. Annual rainfall is very minimal at 76 mm, the wettest is 33 mm in September and the driest are 0 mm from the months of March to June. Its total average of rainy days is only three. Water temperature ranges from 23 in winter months to 26 in summer and fall months. Humidity ranges from 70% in January, 75% during the summer months and in October to 77% in September.

Notable people

* Miguel Dias, boxer, immigrated to the Netherlands and played for the Dutch team *

Rodirlei José Ascensão Duarte Rodirlei "Rodi" José Ascensão Duarte, sometime known as "Rody" (born 28 May 1991) is a Cape Verdean former association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. Career Rodi spend his youth career in Portuga ...

(better known as Rody), footballer *

Manuel Antonio Martins Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * M ...

, founder of Santa Maria, colonial governor *

Ruben Sança Ruben Pascal Sança (born December 13, 1986) is a Cape Verdean long-distance runner who specializes in the marathon. He attended and ran for the University of Massachusetts Lowell, after which he began training under Gary Gardner as a member of th ...

, athlete

References

External links

{{Sal Cities in Cape Verde Populated coastal places in Cape Verde Geography of Sal, Cape Verde