Tarrafal de São Nicolau is a cityCabo Verde, Statistical Yearbook 2015
Instituto Nacional de Estatística, p. 32 in the western part of the island of São Nicolau, Cape Verde. With a population of 3,733 (2010 census), it is the most populous settlement of the island. It is the seat of the Tarrafal de São Nicolau Municipality, and the main port of the island. It is situated on the west coast, 9 km southwest of Ribeira Brava.

Subdivisions

The city is divided into neighborhoods (''bairros'') including: *Alto Fontaínhas *Alto Saco *Amarelo Pintado *Campedrada *Chã de Poça *João Baptista *Telha

History

Before the 19th century, the roadstead of Tarrafal was little used because it was far from the main settlement of the island, Ribeira Brava.Inventário dos recursos turísticos do município do Tarrafal de São Nicolau
Direcção Geral do Turismo It was mentioned as ''Terrafal'' in the 1747 map by

Jacques-Nicolas Bellin Jacques Nicolas Bellin (1703 – 21 March 1772) was a French hydrographer, geographer, and member of the French intellectual group called the philosophes. Bellin was born in Paris. He was hydrographer of France's hydrographic office, member of t ...

. It became an anchorage for

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industr ...

ships in the 19th century, and fish processing infrastructure was built, leading to further growth of the settlement. The settlement became a town in the early 1990s and a city in 2010.

Transport

The port of Tarrafal was constructed in 1991. It has 2 quays and a roll-on/roll-off ramp and a passenger terminal. The total length of the quays is 137 m, and the maximum depth is 7 m. There are ferry connections from Tarrafal to the islands of São Vicente (Mindelo) and

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

(Praia).Cabo Verde Fast Ferry's website
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarrafal de Sao Nicolau, Cape Verde Cities in Cape Verde Tarrafal de São Nicolau Municipal seats in Cape Verde Populated coastal places in Cape Verde Geography of São Nicolau, Cape Verde Ports and harbours of Cape Verde

Subdivisions

History

Transport

See also

References