Chã das Caldeiras

The Chã das Calderas ("Plain of the calderas"), sometimes abbreviated Chã ("Plain"), is a caldera on the island of Fogo, Cape Verde. With a diameter of 9 km (6 mi) and open to the east, it is surrounded on the west by the bordeira, a mountainous wall which rises to 2,700 m (8,858 ft).^[2] It was made by the eruption of Monte Armarelo, which was replaced by the smaller Pico do Fogo.^[3]

Chã das Caldeiras
Settlement
Village of Chã das Caldeiras before the 2014–15 eruption
Coordinates: 14.971°N 24.367°W / 14.971; -24.367
Country	Cape Verde
Island	Fogo
Municipality	Santa Catarina do Fogo
Civil parish	Santa Catarina do Fogo
Population  (2010)[1]
• Total	697
ID	83102

Geography

View of the town of Bangaeira.

The Chã das Caldeiras is in southwestern Cape Verde and occupies the north-east of the island of Fogo. It is shared between the municipalities of Mosteiros to the north and Santa Catarina do Fogo to the south.

A little more of a thousand people live permanently inside the caldera, in the small towns of Bangaeira and Portela;^[4] these towns are at about 1,700 m (5,577 ft), where sometimes the temperature gets to 0 °C (32 °F).^[5] Part of the National Park of Fogo, it is one of the main tourist destinations of Cape Verde. It is accessed by a single central road 35 km (22 mi) long from São Filipe.

The vegetation is sparse but several endemic plants nevertheless grow there, especially Echium vulcanorum (lingua-de-vaca) and Erysimum caboverdeanum (crabo bravo) that can not be found anywhere else. Others are Sarcostemma daltonii (gestiba), Verbascum cystolithicum (mato-branco), Lavandula rotundifolia (aipo) ou Euphorbia tuckeyana (tortolho).^[6][7]

• 
  Echium vulcanorum
• 
  Erysimum caboverdeanum (cultivated in Canary Islands)
• 
  Sarcostemma daltonii
• 
  Verbascum cystolithicum
• 
  Lavandula rotundifolia
• 
  Euphorbia tuckeyana

Economy

Where land is not covered by lava, farmers grow fruit trees, grains and vineyards. A cooperative produces a local wine, the manecon, which is not send to other countries.^[4]

• 
  Apple tree
• 
  Castor oil plant
• 
  Pigeon pea
  (Cajanus cajan)
• 
  Grapes

Infrastructure

A school had 158 students in 2010.^[8] The village of Portela has two churches, one Catholic and one Adventist.

In 2012 there was no electricity in the villages of Bangaeira and Portela but the connection is expected in 2016.^[9]

• 
  Primary school.
• 
  Catholic church.
• 
  Office of tourism in a funco, a traditional house.
• 
  Wine cooperative.

References

1. "2010 Census results". Instituto Nacional de Estatística Cabo Verde (in Portuguese). 24 November 2016.
2. Lesourd, Michel (2006). "Chã das Caldeiras". Le Cap-Vert Aujourd'Hui - Chã das Caldeiras (in French). Paris: Jeune Afrique - Jaguar. pp. 136-140. ISBN 978-2-86950-408-0.
3. "Pico". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution.
4. Lesourd, Michel (1995). État et société aux îles du Cap-Vert : alternatives pour un petit État insulaire' (in French). Paris: Karthala. pp. 86–87. ISBN 2-86537-625-7.
5. Leyens, Teresa (2002). "Biodiversidade da prevista área protegida na Ilha do Fogo/Cabo Verde" [Biodiversity of the planned protected area in the Fogo Island/Cape Verde] (pdf) (in Portuguese). Eschborn, Germany: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ). ISBN 3-933984-38-6. Retrieved 22 August 2013.^{[permanent dead link]}
6. Auguste Chevalier (1935). Les îles du Cap Vert : géographie, biogéographie, agriculture. Flore de l'archipel (in French). Paris: Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, laboratoire d'agronomie coloniale. p. 992. Available at TelaBotanica.
7. Isildo Gomes; et al. (2003). Plantas endémicas e árvores indígenas das ilhas do Cabo Verde (in Portuguese). Cape Verde: Instituto Nacional de Investigação e Desenvolvimento Agrário and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeitand.
8. "Chã das Caldeiras: 158 alunos recebem kits escolares". A Semana (in Portuguese). 13 June 2011. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
9. "Primeiro-ministro promete energia para Chã das Caldeiras, Fogo, até 2016". Radiotelevisão Caboverdiana - RTC (in Portuguese). 13 June 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2013.

Other websites

• Fogo, Cape Verde Islands at NASA Earth Observatory