Santa Maria, Cape Verde

Santa Maria (Portuguese for Saint Mary) is a city[2] in the southern part of the island municipality of Sal, Cape Verde. It is located on the south coast, about 16 km south of the Amílcar Cabral International Airport, and 20 km south of the island capital Espargos.

Beach in Santa Maria
Hotel Garupa, one of several villas in the west of Santa Maria
The city square of the city named (Praça) Marcelo Leitão
Santa Maria
Settlement
Typical street in Santa Maria
Santa Maria
Coordinates: 16.599°N 22.904°W / 16.599; -22.904
CountryCape Verde
IslandSal
MunicipalitySal
Civil parishNossa Senhora das Dores
Elevation
12 m (39 ft)
Population
 (2010)[1]
 • Total6,258
ID41104

History

Santa Maria was founded in 1830 for the production of salt. Up to 30,000 tons of salt were shipped from Santa Maria each year.[3] A pier was built in the area of Ponta de Vera Cruz and a small rail track was built to carry the salt to the pier. Most of the product was exported to Brazil, which was halted in 1887 when Brazil imposed a high tax on imported salt to protect its own salt production. The town went into a deep decline, only to recover in 1920 when a Portuguese investor resumed salt production. This continued until 1984.[3] In 1935, Santa Maria was elevated from a village to a town.[4]

In 1967, Belgian industrialists and engineers Georges Vynckier and Marguerite Massart opened Cape Verde's first resort hotel named Morabeza.[5] After 1986, tourism became an important industry on the island, and many resorts and hotels were built in the southern and southwestern coastal areas near Santa Maria.[3] In 2017, 48.2% of the country's available beds were on the island of Sal.[6]

Aerial view of Santa Maria and the surrounding area
Beach near Santa Maria

Historical population
YearPopulation
1990 (Census)1,343
2000 (Census)about 2,500
2010 (Census)[7]6,258

Points of interest

Climate

Santa Maria has an arid climate. The highest mean temperature is in September with 27°C and its lowest is in January with 22°C. Annual rainfall is very minimal at 76 mm, the wettest is 33 mm in September and the driest are 0 mm from the months of March to June. Its total average of rainy days is only three. Water temperature ranges from 23 in winter months to 26 in summer and fall months. Humidity ranges from 70% in January, 75% during the summer months and in October to 77% in September.

Climate data for Santa Maria
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 24
(75)		 24
(75)		 24
(76)		 24
(76)		 25
(77)		 26
(79)		 27
(80)		 28
(83)		 29
(84)		 28
(83)		 27
(80)		 25
(77)		 26
(79)
Daily mean °C (°F) 22
(71)		 21
(70)		 22
(71)		 22
(72)		 23
(73)		 24
(75)		 25
(77)		 26
(79)		 27
(80)		 26
(79)		 24
(76)		 23
(73)		 24
(75)
Average low °C (°F) 19
(66)		 18
(65)		 18
(65)		 19
(67)		 20
(68)		 21
(70)		 22
(72)		 24
(75)		 24
(76)		 23
(74)		 22
(71)		 21
(69)		 21
(70)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 5.1
(0.2)		 2.5
(0.1)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 5.1
(0.2)		 10
(0.4)		 33
(1.3)		 10
(0.4)		 5.1
(0.2)		 5.1
(0.2)		 75.9
(3)
Average rainy days 3 3 4 3 4 4 5 6 7 4 4 2 49
Average relative humidity (%) 66 66 65 67 70 71 71 72 73 72 70 68 69
Mean daily sunshine hours 10 10 11 11 11 11 9 8 9 9 10 9 10
Source: Weatherbase[8]

Notable people
  • Miguel Dias, boxer, immigrated to the Netherlands and played for the Dutch team
  • Rodirlei José Ascensão Duarte (better known as Rody), footballer
  • Manuel Antonio Martins, founder of Santa Maria, colonial governor
  • Ruben Sança, athlete
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See also

References
  1. "2010 Census results". Instituto Nacional de Estatística Cabo Verde (in Portuguese). 24 November 2016.
  2. Cabo Verde, Statistical Yearbook 2015, Instituto Nacional de Estatística, p. 32-33
  3. Ray Almeida. "A History of Ilha do Sal". Archived from the original on 6 February 2016.
  4. História da Ilha do Sal, Câmara Municipal do Sal
  5. "Hotel Morabeza ****". www.hotelmorabeza.com. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
  6. "INE Estatísticas do Turismo 2017" (PDF) (in Portuguese).
  7. 2010 Census results Sal
  8. "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Santa Maria, Cape Verde". Weatherbase. 2018. Retrieved on 14 August 2018.

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