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  and open to the east, it is surrounded on the west by the bordeira, a mountainous wall which rises to . It was made by the eruption of Monte Armarelo, which was replaced by the smaller Pico do Fogo.

Geography
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; these towns are at about , where sometimes the temperature gets to . 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  long from São Filipe.

The vegetation is sparse but several endemic plants  nevertheless grow there, especially Echium vulcanorum () and Erysimum caboverdeanum () that can not be found anywhere else. Others are Sarcostemma daltonii (), Verbascum cystolithicum (), Lavandula rotundifolia () ou Euphorbia tuckeyana (). Available at TelaBotanica.

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.

Infrastructure
A school had 158 students in 2010. 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.

References

Other websites

 Fogo, Cape Verde Islands at NASA Earth Observatory

Category:Calderas
Category:Volcanoes of Africa
Category:Geography of Cape Verde