Palmeira, Cape Verde
| Palmeira | |
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| Settlement | |
The Port of Palmeira, one of three of the island's ports
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 Palmeira
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| Coordinates: 16°45′29″N 22°58′55″W / 16.758°N 22.982°WCoordinates: 16°45′29″N 22°58′55″W / 16.758°N 22.982°W | |
| Country | Cape Verde |
| Island | Sal |
| Municipality | Sal |
| Civil parish | Nossa Senhora das Dores |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 1,420 |
Palmeira (Cape Verde Creole: Palméra) is a village in the northwestern part of the island of Sal, Cape Verde. Its 2010 population was 1,420, doubled in more than a decade from around 700. The village is situated on the west coast, about 4 km west of the island capital Espargos. Palmeira is home to the main port of the island of Sal which serves ferry services with the islands of São Nicolau and Boa Vista which connects to further islands of São Vicente and Santiago, the port is being the third busiest in freight traffic, especially fish from the waters surrounding the island and outside and goods and foodstuff supplied to the island.
Also Palmeira also has an industrial area in the northwest and the island's oil refinery supplying both the city and the airport. Further northwest, a few windmills were installed in the late 2000s, which provide some energy to the island; all electricity consumption on the island is renewable. In the late 2000s, the port underwent a small expansion.
In its surrounding area, it has a few oases, the larger one being Terra Boa, the growing population and additional buildings including industrial are now making the oases slowly disappearing along with a part of the desert landscape. Beaches include Praia Fontana and the small lagoon of Buracona to the northwest which is a touristic area, there are naturally formed basalt cliffs in the basin area within the Atlantic. That portion are dominated by hills and small mountains. There is also a cave that has the "Blue Eye", during parts of the day, the sun shines and makes the water blue.
The settlement was the first in the island and was founded as a fishing and ranching settlement in the 16th century, it had about 100 people and until when Pedra de Lume was founded in 1799, it was the island's only settlement. On 22 October 1542, it was the center of the captaincy of Sal, Santa Luzia and Brava which lasted to the time when Cape Verde became a united colony.
The settlement was mentioned as "Palmera" in the 1747 French/Dutch map by Jacques Nicolas Bellin.
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