Santa Luzia is an

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

of the Barlavento archipelago 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 ...

located between São Nicolau and São Vicente, the channel of Santa Luzia separates the island of São Vicente and is 8 km wide. The area is 34.2 km².Resolução nº 36/2016
Estratégia e Plano Nacional de Negócios das Áreas Protegidas Like all Cape Verdean islands, it is of volcanic origin. The highest point is Topona (elevation ). Santa Luzia is 12.4 km long and 5.3 km wide.Cabo Verde, Statistical Yearbook 2015
Instituto Nacional de Estatística, p. 25 Administratively, it is not part of any municipality, but in the public domain of the state of Cape Verde.Proposta do Plano de Gestão da Reserva Natural de Santa Luzia, ilhéus Branco e Raso
p. 30 Together with the islets of

Ilhéu Branco Ilhéu Branco (Portuguese language, Portuguese for "white islet") is an uninhabited Resolução nº ...

and

Ilhéu Raso Ilhéu Raso is an uninhabited volcanic island of Resolução nº 36/2016
, Estratégia e Pl ...

, Santa Luzia is on the tentative list of UNESCO's

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

s.Complexe d’aires Protégées de l’île de Santa Luzia et des Ilots Branco et Raso
UNESCO Santa Luzia, Ilhéu Branco and Ilhéu Raso were declared a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

as Santa Luzia Nature Reserve (''Reserva Natural Integral de Santa Luzia'') in 1990. In addition to the islands proper (), the nature reserve covers of ocean. The island has never had permanent inhabitants, but it has been used for grazing animals. In the 20th century, a

meteorology Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agricultur ...

station was built. Today, fishermen from the nearby islands of São Vicente and Santo Antão fish in the waters around the island. ''

Conus santaluziensis ''Conus santaluziensis'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Conidae, the cone snails, cone shells or cones. These snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of stinging Sting may refer to: * Stinger o ...

'' is a species of sea snails found in the waters of Santa Luzia.World Register of Marine Species
/ref>

References

External links

Santa Luzia at Protected Areas of Cape Verde website
{{Authority control Uninhabited islands of Cape Verde Former populated places in Cape Verde