Pedra de Lume
| Pedra de Lume | |
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| Coordinates: 16°45′47″N 22°53′42″W / 16.763°N 22.895°WCoordinates: 16°45′47″N 22°53′42″W / 16.763°N 22.895°W | |
| Country | Cape Verde |
| Island | Sal |
| Municipality | Sal |
| Civil parish | Nossa Senhora das Dores |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 329 |
Pedra de Lume (also Pedra do Lume,[source needs translation]Cape Verde Creole: Pedra di Lumi) is a village in the northeastern part of the island of Sal, Cape Verde. The village is situated on the east coast, about 5 km east of the island capital Espargos. Pedra de Lume has been famous for its salterns which began around the 18th century. Together with Cagarral, the saltworks and around the mountain forms Cape Verde's protected area
The Pedra de Lume crater is around 900 m in radius and is an extinct volcano. The area features salt evaporation ponds built over a natural salt lake that formed through infiltration of water from the sea, since the base of the crater is below the sea level, thus forming the lowest point in Cape Verde. The salt extraction is currently inactive since the 1990s.
Baía da Parda lies to the south. Other landmarks includes a chapel and Farol de Pedra de Lume located 1 km northeast.
Cape Verde's first salt mine was created in 1799. Cape Verde's first tunnel would be constructed in 1804, and it was the only tunnel in Cape Verde until 2008 when the Pombas and Ponta do Tumba tunnels on Estrada de Corda in eastern Santo Antão would be constructed. Pedra de Lume was the island's first settlement, founded in around 1800; it was the last major island of Cape Verde to become inhabited. Salt production was very active in most of the 19th century, with most of it being exported to Brazil until Cape Verde's nationalization in 1887. Most salt produced there in the 20th century was exported to France (company: Les Salines du Cap-Vert which was part of Salins du Midi) Salt would be carried on suspended cableways. Exports rose in the 1930s, but its production later fell and ceased continuation in 1999. Fishing later became its chief industry, and tourism is now soaring. Pedra de Lume saltworks was listed to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, but never became one and it remains in the tentative list.
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