São Vicente, Cape Verde
São Vicente (actually Portuguese: Ilha de São Vicente; German: "Island of St. Vincent " ) is one of the smaller Cape Verde Islands in the Atlantic. The 227 km ² island is part of the northern Ilhas de Barlavento (port: " Leeward Islands " ) and lies between the islands of Santo Antão and Santa Luzia, about 640 kilometers west of the African coast. The port city of Mindelo are almost exclusively urban island of the stamp. Outside there are two small fishing villages and some weekend settlements.
Geography
The mittelgebirgige, dry island is younger volcanic origin. About wide, filled with boulders, gravel and sand valleys three mittelgebirgige, partly rocky, steep crags rise. The highest elevation of 750 m is the Table Mountain of Monte Verde ( Portuguese: " Green Mountain "). A giant submarine volcano crater in the northwest of the island is one of the most beautiful and safest natural harbors in the central Atlantic Ocean, Porto Grande.
Geology
The geological development of São Vicente can be categorized as follows ( from young to old)
- Abrasion and quaternary deposits
- Recent volcanics
- Monte Verde Formation
- Ultraalkalische vents and intrusions
- Praia Grande flank collapse
- Madeiral Monte Cara Formation
- Mindelo Formation
- Basal complex
It begins in the Tortonian to around 9 million years BP with the submarine seamount stage of the basal complex, which sits old oceanic crust from the Aptian 118 bis 120 million years BP. The seamount is composed of basaltic alkaline rocks, mainly Picrobasalte, basalts and basanites. The basal complex is crossed by east-west trending (N 080 and N110 ) transitions. From the Messinian before 6.5 million years BP grew with the Mindelo Formation ( Pikrobasalte and basanites ) above the seamount a shield volcano. The Mindelo Formation is intruded by numerous passages that are organized in a three-arm (N 030, N 120 and S 240 ), to be taken in the eruptive center rift system. The pahoehoe flows are interspersed extensively by sills. The following Madeiral Monte Cara Formation of São Vicente volcano changed its structure to an ordinary composite stratovolcano, reaching a diameter of 10 to 12 km and a minimum height of 2500 meters. This development was completed prior to 4.5 million years BP.
During the Zancleums before 4.5 million years BP the northeast flank of the volcano building collapsed in a catastrophic event to northeast. The Praia Grande flank collapse left a 10 x 12 km wide depression, which was gradually filled in the period 4,5 bis 3.1 million years BP nephelinitischen of lava flows and associated carbonatites, Foiditen and phonolites of the Monte Verde formation. Its course is marked in the valley of the Ribeira do Calhau of avalanche Schuttbrekzien. It is further assumed that similar flank collapses have also occurred on the São Vicente SW and NW- side ( São Pedro Mindelo or edge collapse). In the Upper Pliocene ( years 3 bis 2 million years BP - Piacenzium and Gelasian ) took the volcanic activities to an end. The volcano is now subject to severe erosion and lost up to 90 % of its volume. Years ago, about 300,000 BP, the volcano awoke again to rezentem volcanism, however with sporadic strombolian eruptions in the northeast and east of the island remained relatively insignificant. It emerged, for example, the basanitic spatter and cinder cones of Vulcão Viana and Curral de João Paula. Towards the end of the Quaternary are still some Abrasionsplattformen and prominent beaches recorded, which can reach up to 18 meters above the sea level. Also aeolian deposits and alluvial fans are occasionally encountered.
History
São Vicente was discovered on January 22, 1462, the day of Saint Vincent de Valencia. Because of their lack of water, the island was used only for grazing of livestock by some owners of the neighboring island of Santo Antão.
Until the 19th century the natural harbor served on the almost uninhabited island as a hideout for deep sea pirates. With the rising steam navigation in the 1850s, he was within a decade, one of the largest coal transshipment points. The port city of Mindelo, originated in the time of the coal trade and new again as the largest switching station British cable companies in the 1880s, carries in its historic city center today, the influences of the Portuguese and English culture. Regional and port city became the national center of commerce and culture of this small country with an interesting intellectual and artistic life.
The most prominent artist São Vicente is the singer Cesaria Evora.
In May and June 2006, the island was the scene of the first NATO maneuver on African soil. At the operation " Steadfast Jaguar " was attended by 7,800 soldiers.
Culture
Authors
- Germano Almeida
- Corsino Fortes
- Manuel Lopes
- Onésimo Silveira
- Ovídio de Sousa Martins
- Cesaria Evora
- Manuel de Novas
- Tchale Figueira
- Luís Ramos Morais
- Vasco Martins
Poets
- Sergio Frusoni
- Corsino Fortes
Language
Creole, Portuguese
Other sons and daughters
- Luís de Montalvor (1891-1947), Portuguese writer, co-founder of the influential magazine Orpheu
- Rolando Jorge Pires da Fonseca ( born 1985 ), football player, Portuguese international