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Boa Vista (
/ref> it is the third largest island of the Cape Verde archipelago. The island of Boa Vista is closer to the African continent than all the other islands in Cape Verde, being the easternmost island of all. The distance between Boa Vista and Senegal is only 450 km. The capital of Boa Vista, , is located in the north-western part of the island. Boa Vista is mainly known for its beaches, turtles and traditional music.
Boa Vista is the third largest island after Santo Antão and Santiago, with an area of 631.1 square kilometres. It is situated south of Sal and north of Maio. The island is generally flat, but it has numerous hills like
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 "good view"), also written as Boavista, is a desert-like island that belongs to the Cape Verde
, national_anthem = ()
, official_languages = Portuguese
, national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole
, capital = Praia
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, demonym ...
Islands. At ,2010 Census Summary/ref> it is the third largest island of the Cape Verde archipelago. The island of Boa Vista is closer to the African continent than all the other islands in Cape Verde, being the easternmost island of all. The distance between Boa Vista and Senegal is only 450 km. The capital of Boa Vista, , is located in the north-western part of the island. Boa Vista is mainly known for its beaches, turtles and traditional music.
Geography
Boa Vista is the third largest island after Santo Antão and Santiago, with an area of 631.1 square kilometres. It is situated south of Sal and north of Maio. The island is generally flat, but it has numerous hills like Monte Estância
Monte Estância is a mountain in the southeastern part of the island Boa Vista in Cape Verde. At 387 m elevation, it is the island's highest point.Protected areas in the island of Boa Vista
- Municipality of Boa Vista, March 2013 Monte Santo António,
Instituto Nacional de Estatística Boa Vista is also notable for its desert
Lourenço Conceição Gomes, Universidade Portucalense, 2008, p. 97 Until the end of the 16th century the only human activity on the island was breeding wild cattle. The island's first settlement, now known as
, ''Boletim Oficial I Série, Número 53'', 23 September 2016
(Santo Antão, São Vicente, São Nicolau, Sal, Boa Vista), Instituto de Estradas
File:bubista.jpg, Boa Vista landscape.
File:Praia de Cabral.JPG, Praia de Cabral, Boa Vista, Cape Verde
File:Cape_verde_boa_vista_sal_rei_2048x1536px.jpg, The capital,
File:Curral Velho, Cape Verde.jpg, Ruins of the abandoned village '' Curral Velho''.
File:Sal Rei Beach.jpg, beach
Educom.sce.fct.unl.pt
Tourist site, Boavista Official
Câmara Municipal da Boa Vista
{{Authority control Municipalities of Cape Verde Islands of Cape Verde
- Municipality of Boa Vista, March 2013 Monte Santo António,
Rocha Estância
Rocha Estância is a mountain in the southwestern part of the island Boa Vista in Cape Verde, east of the village of Povoação Velha. Its elevation is 357 meters. It is part of a protected area (category ''Natural Monument'') covering 253 ha. ...
, Morro de Areia, Morro Negro, Monte Caçador, Pico Forcado and Monte Vigia.
Boa Vista is famous for its large beaches like Atalanta
Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology.
There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology ...
, Cabral, Chaves, Ervatão
Ervatão or Porto de Ervatão is a beach on the southeast coast of the island of Boa Vista, Cape Verde, Boa Vista in Cape Verde. At its eastern end is the headland ''Ponta de Ervatão''. Ervatão is part of the Turtle Nature Reserve (Portuguese: '' ...
, Gatas, Santa Mónica and Varandinha. Its northernmost point is Ponta do Sol
Ponta do Sol (; en, "Cape of the Sun") is a municipality in the southwestern coast of the island of Madeira, in the archipelago of Madeira. The population in 2011 was 8,862, in an area of .
History
The settlement of Ponta do Sol began shortly af ...
; its westernmost point Ponta Varandinha
Ponta Varandinha is a headland and the westernmost point of the island of Boa Vista, Cape Verde. To its north lies the beach Praia da Varandinha. The nearest village is Povoação Velha
Povoação Velha is a village in the southwestern part o ...
. Its main river is the Ribeira do Rabil
Ribeira do Rabil is a seasonal stream in the central and western part of the island of Boa Vista in Cape Verde. It is 27 km long, and its basin area is .
, which has the largest basin area of all Cape Verde at .Estatísticas do Ambiente - 2016Instituto Nacional de Estatística Boa Vista is also notable for its desert
Deserto de Viana
The Deserto de Viana is a sand desert in the northwestern part of the island of Boa Vista, Cape Verde. It is situated east of the towns Rabil and Sal Rei, and west of Bofarreira. The desert itself is not a protected area, but it is adjacent to ...
and its dune fields. Boa Vista is surrounded by a number of uninhabited islets, the largest of which is Ilhéu de Sal Rei
Ilhéu de Sal Rei is an uninhabited islet near the coast of Boa Vista Island, Cape Verde. It is located southwest of the island capital Sal Rei. Its area is António de Noli
Antonio de Noli (born 1415 or possibly 1419) was a 15th-century Genoese nobleman and navigator, and the first governor of the earliest European overseas colony in Subsaharan Africa. He discovered some of the Cape Verde islands on behalf of Henry ...
and Diogo Gomes
Diogo Gomes () was a Portuguese navigator, explorer and writer.
Diogo Gomes was a servant and explorer of Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator. His memoirs were dictated late in his life to Martin Behaim. They are an invaluable (if sometimes in ...
in 1460.Valor simbólico do centro histórico da PraiaLourenço Conceição Gomes, Universidade Portucalense, 2008, p. 97 Until the end of the 16th century the only human activity on the island was breeding wild cattle. The island's first settlement, now known as
Povoação Velha
Povoação Velha is a village in the southwestern part of the island of Boa Vista, Cape Verde.Sal Rei
Sal Rei is a cityCabo Verde, Statistical Yearbook 2015
, which had been founded at the end of the 18th century. As did much of the Cape Verdean economy, the exploitation of salt on Boa Vista also relied largely on slavery. A Portuguese-British commission to end slavery was established in Boa Vista in 1842, but slavery was not completely abolished until 1876. Until 1935 the municipality of Boa Vista also covered the island of Sal. In 1975, Cape Verde declared its independence.
Municipality
Administratively, the island of Boa Vista 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 ...
da Boa Vista''. This municipality consists of two ''freguesias
''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 Port ...
'' (civil parishes): Santa Isabel and São João Baptista. The municipal seat is the city . The island's two parishes are subdivided into 9 population zones for statistical purposes:
Politics
Since 2016, the local party BASTA 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
Population
In the 1830s, the population of Boa Vista was estimated at 4,000. In 2015 Boa Vista's population was 14,451. Most of the population live in Sal Rei, but there are also several smaller settlements with 10 to 100 people. With 23.3 inhabitants per km2, it is the least-dense populated island in the archipelago. The population of Boa Vista consist of a mixture of different nationalities. The Creoles, of mixed mainland African and European descent are the biggest group of inhabitants, with no less than 70%, as a lot of Portuguese enter into a relation with the slaves of the African continent, during the colonization of Portugal, and settled in Boa Vista afterwards.Economy
Before, the inhabitants of Boa Vista survived off salt collection anddate
Date or dates may refer to:
*Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'')
Social activity
*Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner
** Group dating
*Play date, a ...
farming. Nowadays they still earn money from date farming but also from tourism. A lot of people do work in this touristic sector as a taxi driver, an employee in one of the hotel chains or as a salesman of souvenirs in Sal Rei. The income from tourism has risen rapidly since the coming of the international airport in 2007. There are several hotels and beach resorts on the island.
Transport
The airport of Boa Vista is Aristides Pereira International Airport, about 5 km southeast of Sal Rei. There are ferry services from the port of Sal Rei. The island has 64 km of national roads, the single first class national road connects and Rabil.Classification of National Roads(Santo Antão, São Vicente, São Nicolau, Sal, Boa Vista), Instituto de Estradas
Nature
Boa Vista is not as abundant in flora and fauna as the other larger or more humid islands such as Santiago and Santo Antão; only 3% of its area is forested. However, 37% of its area is a protected area, which is the highest proportion of all inhabited Cape Verde islands. There are 14 protected areas on Boa Vista, including beaches that are important nesting areas forloggerhead sea turtle
The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around in carapace length when fully ...
s and birds. There are several endemic species, e.g. Boa Vista wall gecko (''Tarentola boavistensis''), '' Conus boavistensis'', '' Conus salreiensis'') and '' Plesiocystiscus bubistae''.
Gallery
Sports
There are several football clubs on Boa Vista, organised in theBoa Vista Regional Football Association
Boa Vista Regional Football Association (Portuguese: ''Associação Regional de Futebol da Boa Vista'', abbreviation: ''ARFBV'',) is a football (soccer) association covering the island of Boa Vista . It is headquartered in the island capital of S ...
.
Notable residents
* Aristides Pereira, Cape Verde's first president *Germano Almeida
Germano Almeida (; born 31 July 1945) is a Cape Verdean author and lawyer.
Biography
Born on the Cape Verdean island Boa Vista, Almeida studied law at the University of Lisbon and currently practices in Mindelo. His novels have been translat ...
, a Cape Verdean writerReferences
External links
Tourist site, Boavista Official
Câmara Municipal da Boa Vista
{{Authority control Municipalities of Cape Verde Islands of Cape Verde