Cova (crater)

Cova
Inside the Cova Crater
Highest point
Elevation	1,176 m (3,858 ft)
Listing	List of mountains in Cape Verde
Coordinates	17°06′28″N 25°03′46″W / 17.1077°N 25.0627°W / 17.1077; -25.0627
Geography
Cova eastcentral Santo Antão
Geology
Mountain type	Stratovolcano
Climbing
Easiest route	hiking, dirt road

Cova or Cova Caldera (Portuguese Caldeira de Cova), is a mountain, a caldera and an extinct volcano in the eastcentral part of the island of Santo Antão in Cape Verde. It is situated north of Porto Novo and is halfway with Ribeira Grande. Its elevation is 1,176 meters and the length of the caldera is 1.2 km north to south and nearly 1.1 km wide. Southwest of the crater rim on Estrada da Corda (EN1-SA02) where the municipal boundaries of all of the islands (Paul, Porto Novo and Ribeira Grande meet. It forms a part of Cova-Ribeira da Torre-Paul Natural Park.

Inside the caldera features small farms such as pasture, fruits and vegetables, some of them not grown in the lower areas. Its climate is ten degrees cooler than the low-lying areas of the island, high temperatures are 15 in January and 20 in 20 in late Summer and low temperatures are 10 from January to April and 15 in September to October. South of the crater has a mountain curve, north of it is a small air control tower that controls traffic in the sky, it is one of the few control towers in West Africa that control distant from the airport. Surrounding the caldeira are a forest predominantly pine, part of the Cape Verde Islands dry forests, a kilometer to the northeast and the south are predominantly grasslands. In some parts, trees have been recently planted especially in the mid 2000s.

One dirt road connects the caldeira that connects Estrada da Corda, formerly the main road between Ribeira Grande and Porto Novo and the west of the island, south is the small road connecting to Pico da Cruz, other tracks used for people connects the caldera with the Paul Valley, a hiking trail is on the west side. Nearby settlements include Pico da Cruz or Cinta Vaca in the east, Lombo da Figueira in the south and Corda in the west, the caldera is almost entirely in the settlement area of Cinta da Vaca (also Pico da Cruz).