SãO TOMé ISLAND

Rainforest trekking is one of the island's attractions

'São Tomé Island', at 854 km² (330 sq mi), is the largest island of São Tomé and Príncipe and is home to about 133,600 or 96% of the nation's population. This island and smaller nearby islets make up São Tomé Province, which is divided into six districts. The main island is located 2 km (1¼ miles) north of the equator. It is about 48 km (30 miles) long (North-South) by 32 km (20 miles) wide (east-west). It rises to 2,024 m (6,639 ft) at Pico de São Tomé and includes the capital city, São Tomé, on the northeast coast. The nearest city on mainland Africa is the port city of Port Gentil in Gabon located 240 km (150 miles) to the east.

Contents
Languages
Geology
Environment and economy
Towns and villages
References

Languages


The main language is Portuguese, but there are many speakers of Forro and Angolar (Ngola), two Portuguese-based creole languages.

Geology


The entire island of São Tomé is a massive shield volcano which rises from the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, over below sea level. It formed along the Cameroon line, a linear rift zone extending from Cameroon southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the lava erupted on São Tomé over the last million years has been basalt. The youngest dated rock on the island is about 100,000 years old, but numerous more recent cinder cones are found on the southeast side of the island.

Environment and economy


The higher slopes of the island are forested and form part of the Obo National Park, but agriculture is important near the north and east coasts. The chief exports are cocoa, coffee, copra, and palm products, while there is also a fishing industry.
Large reserves of oil are in the ocean between Nigeria and São Tomé. The discovery has been lamented by some as endangering the nation's political stability and natural environment. In response to these concerns the government of São Tomé and Príncipe has drawn up legislation in an attempt to ensure the efficient and equitable use of oil revenues over time.

Towns and villages


Villages on the island include:

Agua-Coco
Agua Ize
Alice
Alto Douro
Andrade
Bela Vista
Blublu
Bom Successo
Buenos Aires
Dona Augusta
Dona Eugenia
Enjale

Formiga
General Fonseco
Graça
Granja
Guadalupe
Guegue Norte
Henrique
Java
Lemos
Mbombo
Mbondi
Monte Café

Monte Herminios
Monte Rosa
Neves
Nova Olinda
Nzumbi
Plato Café
Ponta Figo
Portinho
Porto Alegre
Preserverança
Quimpo
Ribeira Afonso

Santa Catarina
Santa Clotilde
Santa Cruz
Santa Josefina
Santana
Santo António
São João dos Angolares
São José
Saudade
Trindade
Ubabundo?

References





This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.

psst.. try this: add to faves
São Tomé Island Travel Deals