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Sal (Portuguese for "
salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...
") is an island in
Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...
. 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. 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. 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
Its area is . 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. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...
, 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 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 (), 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 Portuguese over ...
'' (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 (4,497
euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
).Anuário Estatístico 2016
Instituto Nacional de Estatística


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) *Palmeira - Espargos Road (EN1-SL02)


Sports

Football (soccer) is the chief sports on the island. It has the Sal Regional Football Association 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 The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
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 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 with: *
Cascais Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera, Estoril Coast. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourism in Port ...
, Portugal * Desenzano del Garda, Italy *
Grottammare Grottammare (Teramano ) is a town and ''comune'' on Italy's Adriatic coast, in the province of Ascoli Piceno, Marche region. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). The town is crossed by the 43rd par ...
, Italy * South Normanton, England


Notable residents

* Maria Alice, singer *
Carlos Andrade Carlos Eduardo Fernandes Vieira de Andrade (born April 27, 1978) is a former Portuguese basketball player who played as a small forward. Andrade played college basketball in the United States, and had brief spells in Germany and Spain. He is the ...
, basketball player * Rodirlei José Ascensão Duarte (Rody), footballer * Elvis Évora (Elvis), footballer * Ana Firmino, singer * Hermínia da Cruz Fortes, singer * Ildo Lobo, musician * Mirri Lobo, musician * Ildo Augusto Dos Santos Lopes Fortes, current bishop of Mindelo * 4BGSal Islands, artist * Nelson Marcos, soccer player * Basílio Ramos, politician * Héldon Ramos (Héldon), footballer * Ruben Sança, athlete * Dona Tututa, composer and pianist


Gallery

File:2014 Cape Verde. Sal. Hund Vid Färgad Dörr.jpg, A sleeping
dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...
File:2014 Cape Verde. Sal. Saltkratern (2).JPEG,
Salt evaporation pond A salt evaporation pond is a shallow artificial salt pan designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines. The salt pans are shallow and expansive, allowing sunlight to penetrate and reach the seawater. Natural salt pans are formed thr ...
in
Volcanic crater A volcanic crater is an approximately circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity. It is typically a bowl-shaped feature containing one or more vents. During volcanic eruptions, molten magma and volcanic gases rise from an ...
( 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 List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
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 A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...
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


See also

* Wildlife of Cape Verde


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