São Tomé Island, at , is the largest island of

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main isla ...

and is home in May 2018 to about 193,380 or 96% of the nation's population. The island is divided into six

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

. It is located 2 km (1¼ miles) north of the

equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

Geography

São Tomé Island is about long (north-south) by wide (east-west). It rises to at Pico de São Tomé and includes the

capital city A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...

São Tomé São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for " Saint Thomas". Founded in the 15th century, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities. History Álv ...

, on the northeast coast. It is situated in the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea (French language, French: ''Golfe de Guinée''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Golfo de Guinea''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Golfo da Guiné'') is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez i ...

, off the western equatorial coast of Africa. The nearest city on mainland

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

is the port city of Port Gentil in

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

located to the east. The island is surrounded by a number of small islands, including Ilhéu das Rolas, Ilhéu das Cabras and Ilhéu Gabado.

Languages

The main language is Portuguese, but there are many speakers of Forro and Angolar (Ngola), two Portuguese-based

creole language A creole language, or simply creole, is a stable form of contact language that develops from the process of different languages simplifying and mixing into a new form (often a pidgin), and then that form expanding and elaborating into a full-fl ...

s. The name "" is Portuguese for Saint Thomas.

Geology

The entire island of São Tomé is a massive

shield volcano A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more viscous lava ...

that rises from the floor of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, over below sea level. It formed along the Cameroon line, a line of volcanoes extending from

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

erupted on São Tomé over the last million years has been

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

. The youngest dated rock on the island is about 100,000 years old, but numerous more recent

cinder cone A cinder cone or scoria cone is a steep, volcanic cone, conical landform of loose pyroclastic rock, pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic ash, clinkers, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are forme ...

s are found on the southeast side of the island.

Environment and economy

The higher slopes of the island are

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

ed and form part of the Parque Natural Obô de São Tomé, but

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

is important near the north and east coasts. The chief exports are cocoa,

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

copra Copra (from ; ; ; ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted ...

, and

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera **Palm oil * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music ...

products, while there is also a

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

industry. Large reserves of oil are in the

ocean The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian, Southern Ocean ...

between

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

and São Tomé. The discovery has been lamented by some as endangering the nation's political stability and natural environment. In response to these concerns the government of

has drawn up legislation in an attempt to ensure the efficient and equitable use of oil revenues over time.

Natural history

Birds

The island has a total of 63 regular bird species, plus an additional 36

vagrant Vagrancy is the condition of wandering homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants usually live in poverty and support themselves by travelling while engaging in begging, scavenging, or petty theft. In Western countries, ...

and unconfirmed species. Of these, 19 are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

and 3 near endemic; in addition, the local

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of olive ibis (''Bostrychia olivacea bocagei'') and maroon pigeon (''Columba thomensis'') are endemic and considered critically endangered. Six species are considered vulnerable, and two critically endangered ( São Tomé fiscal and São Tomé grosbeak).

Administrative divisions

São Tomé is divided into the following six

(seat within brackets): # Água Grande (

) # Cantagalo (

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer * Sailboat designs by W. D. Schock Corp ** Santana 20 ** Santan ...

) # Caué ( São João dos Angolares) # Lembá ( Neves) # Lobata ( Guadalupe) # Mé-Zóchi ( Trindade)

Towns and villages

Villages on the island include: * Agua-Coco * Agua Ize *

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

* Alto Douro * Andrade * Bela Vista * Blublu * Bom Successo * Buenos Aires * Dona Augusta * Dona Eugenia * Enjale * Formiga * General Fonseco * Graça * Granja * Guadalupe * Guegue Norte * Henrique *

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

* Lemos * Mbombo * Mbondi * Monte Café * Monte Herminios *

Monte Rosa Monte Rosa (; ; ; or ; ) is a mountain massif in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps, on the border between Italy (Piedmont and Aosta Valley) and Switzerland (Valais). The highest peak of the massif, amongst several peaks of over , is the D ...

* Neves * Nova Olinda * Nzumbi * Plato Café * Ponta Figo * Portinho *

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

* Preserverança * Quimpo *

Ribeira Afonso Ribeira Afonso is a village on the eastern coast of São Tomé Island in São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the ...

* Santa Catarina * Santa Clotilde * Santa Cruz * Santa Josefina *

* Santo António * São João dos Angolares * São José *

* Saudade * Trindade * Ubabundo File:S. Tomé 2 021 (2269886032).jpg, São Tomé Island File:Sao Tome National Museum 6 (15629232663).jpg, São Sebastião Lighthouse File:Boca do Inferno (20394576524).jpg, Boca do Inferno, São Tomé File:2012SaoTome-308 (8042899981).jpg, Pico Cão Grande, São Tomé Island File:2017 Guadalupe STP DSC 8322 (32502358760).jpg, Fauna in Lobata District, São Tomé File:Coffee Grower.jpg, Cacao production in São Tomé File:2017 Guadalupe STP DSC 8257 (32755678631).jpg, ''Igreja de Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe'', in Guadalupe, São Tomé Island. File:Sao Tome 20 (16061446708).jpg,

File:2017 Guadalupe STP DSC 8330 (32064938223).jpg, ''Lagoa Azul'', STP File:Roca de Sao Joao Angolares (21009677992).jpg, One of the traditional ''Roças'' in São Tomé and Príncipe File:Sao Tome Monteforte Cocoa Beans Drying 3 (15629101423).jpg, Cocoa beans drying, São Tomé File:2017 Guadalupe STP (32039704024).jpg,

Shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

and French fries as served in a local hotel, São Tomé File:2017 Guadalupe STP DSC 8301 (32755738631).jpg, Guadalupe, São Tomé File:2017 Guadalupe STP DSC 8276 (32755709131).jpg,

Sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...

as seen in São Tomé Island File:2012SaoTome-289 (8042899063).jpg, Municipal market of São Tomé City

References

*
CIA Word Fact Book
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sao Tome Island Islands of São Tomé and Príncipe Volcanoes of the Atlantic Ocean Polygenetic shield volcanoes