Príncipe

Príncipe

Map of São Tomé and Príncipe with Príncipe near the top
Geography
Location São Tomé and Príncipe
Area 136 km2 (52.5 sq mi)
Highest elevation 948 m (3,110 ft)
Highest point Pico de Príncipe
Príncipe Province
Districts 1 (Pagué)
Capital city Santo António
Demographics
Demonym Príncipean or Principean
Population 5,000 (as of ?, approx.)
Density 36.8 /km2 (95.3 /sq mi)
Additional information
Area code: 00239-19x-xxxx?

Príncipe is the northern and smaller of the two major islands of the country of São Tomé and Príncipe lying off the west coast of Africa. It has an area of 136 km² and a population of approximately 5,000. The island is a heavily eroded volcano over three million years old, surrounded by other smaller islands including Ilheu Bom Bom, Ilhéu Caroço, Tinhosa Grande and Tinhosa Pequena. Príncipe rises in the south to 948 metres at Pico de Príncipe, in a thickly forested area forming part of the Obo National Park. The north and centre of the island were formerly plantations, most of them formed by Portuguese colonialists using slave labor and concentrated on producing sugar, but have since largely reverted to forest.

Príncipe has one town, Santo António, and an airport (IATA code: PCP, ICAO: FPPR), as well as some villages including Bela Vista, Bombom, Futuro, Neves Ferreira, Paciencia, Ponta Fonte, Ribeira Ize, Santo Antonio de Ureca, and Vila Rosa - few of them connected to the small road network. The island forms one province and one district named Pagué. Besides the official language of Portuguese, a local tongue called Principense or Lunguyê and some Forro is also spoken.

Príncipe was the site where Einstein's Theory of Relativity was experimentally proved successful by Arthur Stanley Eddington and his team during the total solar eclipse of May 29, 1919.

References

External links

São Tomé and Príncipe portal
Geography portal
Major
Príncipe · São Tomé
Minor
São Tomé
Príncipe