Editing Geography of Cape Verde (section)

== Location and description ==

The Cape Verde Islands are located in the mid-Atlantic Ocean some {{convert|450|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} off the west coast of the continent of Africa.<ref name=":0">{{citation-attribution|1={{Cite web|date=December 2001|title=Background Note: Cape Verde|url=http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2835.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020404034638/http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2835.htm|archive-date=April 4, 2002|publisher=[[U.S. State Department]]}} }}</ref> The landscape varies from dry plains to high active volcanoes with cliffs rising steeply from the ocean. The climate is arid. The total size is {{convert|4,033|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}.

The [[archipelago]] consists of ten islands and five islets, divided into the windward (Barlavento) and leeward (Sotavento) groups.<ref name=":0" />

The six islands in the Barlavento group, which sits in the [[trade winds]], are [[Santo Antão, Cape Verde|Santo Antão]], [[São Vicente, Cape Verde|São Vicente]], [[Santa Luzia, Cape Verde|Santa Luzia]], [[São Nicolau, Cape Verde|São Nicolau]], [[Sal, Cape Verde|Sal]], and [[Boa Vista, Cape Verde|Boa Vista]].<ref name=":0" /> The total land mass is {{convert|2239|km2|abbr=on}}.<ref name="gomes2">[http://hdl.handle.net/11328/594 Valor simbólico do centro histórico da Praia], Lourenço Conceição Gomes, Universidade Portucalense, 2008, p. 58-59</ref>

In the west of the Barlavento group, [[Santo Antão, Cape Verde|Santo Antão]], [[São Vicente, Cape Verde|São Vicente]],{{efn|plus islet [[Ilhéu dos Pássaros]]}} [[São Nicolau, Cape Verde|São Nicolau]], [[Santa Luzia, Cape Verde|Santa Luzia]] and islets [[Ilhéu Branco|Branco]] and [[Ilhéu Raso|Raso]] are [[Volcanic islands|volcanic]] and somewhat rocky yet quite widely capable of supporting semi-arid [[agriculture]].

In the east of the Barlavento group, [[Sal, Cape Verde|Sal]]{{efn|plus islet [[Ilhéu Rabo de Junco]]}} and [[Boa Vista, Cape Verde|Boa Vista]]{{efn|plus islets [[Ilhéu de Sal-Rei]] and [[Ilhéu do Baluarte]]}} are lightly hilled, [[desert]] islands whose economies were based on [[salt]] and rely on fishing and [[tourism]], having more in common with the [[Sotavento Islands|Sotavento]] island [[Maio, Cape Verde|Maio]].

There are four main islands of the Sotavento group.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="gomes2"/> The western three islands, [[Brava, Cape Verde|Brava]], [[Fogo, Cape Verde|Fogo]] and [[Santiago, Cape Verde|Santiago]], are rocky and [[Volcano|volcanic]] [[Agriculture|agricultural]] islands, with the longest histories of human habitation. The fourth and easternmost island [[Maio, Cape Verde|Maio]] is a flat [[desert]] island whose economy was primarily based on [[salt]], giving it more in common with the [[Barlavento Islands|Barlavento islands]] [[Sal, Cape Verde|Sal]] and [[Boa Vista, Cape Verde|Boa Vista]]. The [[Ilhéus do Rombo]] are barren islets north of Brava. The total area of the Sotavento Islands is {{convert|1803|km2|abbr=on}}.<ref name="gomes2"/>

Three islands – Sal, Boa Vista, and Maio – generally are level and lack natural water supplies.<ref name=":0" /> Mountains higher than {{convert|1280|m|ft|0}} are found on Santiago, Fogo, Santo Antão, and São Nicolau.<ref name=":0" />

Sand carried by strong winds has caused erosion on all islands, especially the windward ones.<ref name=":0" /> Sheer, jagged cliffs rise from the sea on several of the mountainous islands.<ref name=":0" /> The lack of natural vegetation in the uplands and coast<ref name=":0" /> also contributes to soil erosion.<ref>{{Cite web|title=What is Erosion? Effects of Soil Erosion and Land Degradation|url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/soil-erosion-and-degradation|access-date=2021-10-14|website=World Wildlife Fund|language=en}}</ref> The interior valleys support denser natural vegetation.<ref name=":0" />