Cape Verde, officially known as the Republic of Cape Verde (Portuguese- Republica de Cabo Verde), is an island archipelago lying 600 km west of Dakar, Senegal, the westernmost point of continental Africa. The archipelago is volcanic in origin and rises from the the deep abyssal plain beyond the African continental shelf. It occupies roughly 63,000 km2 of ocean area and just over 4000 km2 of land area and consists of ten islands and five islets, divided into the Windward (Barlavento) and Leeward (Sotavento) groups. The capital is Praia on the island of Santiago. The population in 1994 was estimated to be 423,120.

West African Coast w/Cape Verde Islands
(Xerox PARC Map Viewer: red mark = 15.89N, 19.89W (16.0X))

 

The Cape Verde Islands

Barlavento (Windward) Group Santo Antão Sao Vicente Santa Luzia Ilheu Branco Ilheu Raso Sao Nicolau Sal Boa Vista

Sotavento (Leeward) Group Maio Santiago Fogo Brava

Facts and Statistics

• World Fact Book - Cape Verde
• Area and Population Statistics
• Standard Time Zones of the World and the Current Time in Cape Verde

(See also the separate, frame-based CV maps and images page.)

• Satellite images
  • GOES-8 Image - Cape Verde Islands and West Africa (1.1MB)
    Spectacular infrared image of the CV archipelago and the Dakar point.
  • A beautiful picture of Fogo
  • Fogo and Brava - (137K)
  • The Sotaventos (Brava, Fogo, Santiago, Maio)
  • Sotaventos with Sao Nicolau
  • Archipelago Photo Montage (Courtesy of Chuck Wood) - 111K
  • Current Atlantic Tropical Cyclones (17K)
  • Current GOES-8 Land/Sea Temps and Clouds (81K)
  • Satellite images - directory of various sources.

• Maps
  • Earthview
  • The World (482K)
  • Africa (246K) Excellent depiction of countries of Africa.
  • The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania, Republic of Cape Verde, Senegal
  • Cape Verde Islands (full screen) - 129K
  • Atlantic Seafloor Map (367K) - Must see!
  • Mean Sea Surface and Gravity Anomaly (52K)
    - The hidden part of the archipelago. (large version) (302K)
  • World Wave Height Map
  • Ocean temperature (Global Map) (120K)
  • Santo Antao and Sao Vicente

  • Baie Du Levrier to Cape Vert including the Arquipelago de Cabo Verde (OMEGA) 1:926,562 DMA 51027
  • Cape Verde (Northwestern Part) (OMEGA) 1:250,000 (Plan: Porto Grande 1:20,000) DMA 51500
  • Cape Verde (Eastern Part) 1:250,000 (Plan: Porto de Santa Maria 1:15,000) DMA 51520
  • Cape Verde 1:200,000 (Plan: Porto Da Praia 1: 15,000) DMA 51540
  • Arquipelago de Cabo Verde - Yachting Chart. Imray Iolaire E4
  • British Admiralty #4105

 
Environment and Ecosystem

• The Night Sky
  • Online Sky Charts
  • International Dark-Sky Association

• Climate/Meteorology
  • World Weather Sat Image
  • The Harmattan
  • Africa's Sahel: 1994 Rainfall Verification and 1995 Forecast
  • Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) - Youth Page

• Flora and Fauna
  • World Conservation Monitoring Center Conservation Databases
    IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals
  • Birds of Cape Verde - Cornelius J. Hazevoet
    
  • List of Bird Types (from Aves de Cabo Verde)
  • Noxious Beetles of the Cape Verde Islands - Geisthardt and van Harten
  • Les Oiseaux de l'Archipel du Cap vert - Rene de Naurois
    
  • The Voyage of the Beagle - Charles Darwin - Chapter 1 - St. Jago, Cape de Verd Islands
  • Xerophilous Plants of Cape Verde
  • Cudbear (Rocella tinctoria)

• Oceanography and Marine Biology
  • Sea Turtles
  • Cone Shells of the Cape Verde Islands
  • Corals of the Cape Verde Islands
  • The Underwater World of the Cape Verde Islands - Raymond Almeida
  • WOCE Cape Verde sea level monitor

• Geology/Volcanology/Seismology
  • Volcanic Activity on Fogo (1995)

• Miscellaneous
  • Fuelwood Scarcity and Forest Policy on Santo Antao, Cabo Verde
  • Greenpeace MV Solo/Nuclear Waste Shipment Tracking Report - March 3, 1995 - 265 mile NW of Cape Verde Islands and Track
  • Geographic Guide to Environmental Literature

www.umassd.edu/specialprograms/caboverde/cvgeog.html

This page maintained by Richard Leary
609 Union St., New Bedford, MA 02740 USA
(401) 841-4581 (W); (508) 994-2903 (H)

rleary@umassd.edu