Praia Harbor

Praia Harbor
View of the port and its harbor at the Plateau where cannons once used before the 20th century
Location
Country	Cape Verde
Location	Praia
Coordinates	14°55′12″N 23°30′26″W / 14.9199°N 23.5071°W / 14.9199; -23.5071Coordinates: 14°55′12″N 23°30′26″W / 14.9199°N 23.5071°W / 14.9199; -23.5071
Details
Opened	18th century
Owned by	ENAPOR
Type of harbor	Natural/Artificial
Size of harbor	315 ha
Land area	15 ha
Size	200 ha (inner) 330 ha (outer)
Wharfs	2
Piers	4 2 abandoned

Praia Harbor or Porto da Praia is the city's harbor located southeast of Praia and south of the island of Santiago, Cape Verde. Its length is 8.6 km stretching from the points of Temerosa through Ribeira da Trindade northwest up to Bicudas. It is now divided into two parts since 2013, the western part is 5 km long stretching up to Ponta do Porto (formerly Ponta de Visconde) and 3 km east to Ponta das Bicudas. Its length is 2.82 km and its width is 1.67 km, the western width is 1.1 km and its eastern length is 1.5 km and the width is around 600 meters. From the islet to Ponta do Porto is only less than 490 meters and 2.4 km up to Ponta das Bicudas. In the middle is the Port of Praia, the island and country's chief port.

The harbor are surrounded by the city's subdivisions including Prainha-Temerosa, Gamboa, the Platô in the west and Achada Grande to the east with the subdivisions of Frente and Tras. Four beaches includes Prainha, Gamboa (once called Santa Maria), Negra and Bicudas, the three are very small and Gamboa is its largest. Ribeira da Trindade is the largest stream emptying into the barbar at the middle near the center, a tiny stream is in the west and two streams starting in Achada Grande Tras are in the eastern part.

Numerous streets runs within the harbor including Avenida Rotary International in Prainha, Avenida de Cuba and Avenida Combatentes da Liberdade da Patria in Gamboa and the Plateau and Avenida Charles Darwin in the north.

Before 6000 BC, the harbor or the cove was very small as the sea level was lower during the Ice Age, the previous shoreline is unknown. Around 3000 BC, the islet was formed after splitting from the mainland at Praia and formed what is now Ilhéu de Santa Maria and enlarged the harbor.