Tarrafal de São Nicolau, Cape Verde

Tarrafal de São Nicolau is a city[2] in the western part of the island of São Nicolau, Cape Verde. With a population of 3,733 (2010 census), it is the most populous settlement of the island. It is the seat of the Tarrafal de São Nicolau Municipality, and the main port of the island. It is situated on the west coast, 9 km southwest of Ribeira Brava.

Tarrafal de São Nicolau
Settlement
Town of Tarrafal de São Nicolau with its harbor and its boats
Tarrafal de São Nicolau
Coordinates: 16.566°N 24.357°W / 16.566; -24.357
CountryCape Verde
IslandSão Nicolau
MunicipalityTarrafal de São Nicolau
Civil parishSão Francisco de Assis
Population
 (2010)[1]
  Total3,733
Postal code
3121
ID32109

Subdivisions

The city is divided into neighborhoods (bairros) including:

  • Alto Fontaínhas
  • Alto Saco
  • Amarelo Pintado
  • Campedrada
  • Chã de Poça
  • João Baptista
  • Telha

History

Before the 19th century, the roadstead of Tarrafal was little used because it was far from the main settlement of the island, Ribeira Brava.[3]:14 It was mentioned as Terrafal in the 1747 map by Jacques-Nicolas Bellin.[4] It became an anchorage for whaling ships in the 19th century, and fish processing infrastructure was built, leading to further growth of the settlement.[3]:14–16 The settlement became a town in the early 1990s[3]:16 and a city in 2010.[2]

Transport

The port of Tarrafal was constructed in 1991. It has 2 quays and a roll-on/roll-off ramp and a passenger terminal. The total length of the quays is 137 m, and the maximum depth is 7 m.[5] There are ferry connections from Tarrafal to the islands of São Vicente (Mindelo) and Santiago (Praia).[6]

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.