Ponta da Mina

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Ponta da Mina
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Red pog.svg
Location Northeastern Príncipe near Santo António
Coordinates 1°38′54″N7°26′18″E / 1.64833°N 7.43833°E / 1.64833; 7.43833 Coordinates: 1°38′54″N7°26′18″E / 1.64833°N 7.43833°E / 1.64833; 7.43833
Offshore water bodies Atlantic Ocean

Ponta da Mina is a headland located some 2 km northeast of Santo António, the island capital of Príncipe in São Tomé and Príncipe. The point is on the southern shores of Baía de Santo António. It is fringed by rocks, and the ancient fortress Fortaleza de Santo António da Ponta da Mina stands at its summit. [1]

Santo António Town in Príncipe, São Tomé and Príncipe

Santo António, also known as Santo António do Príncipe, is the main settlement of the island of Príncipe in São Tomé and Príncipe. It lies on the north east coast. It is the capital of the Autonomous Region of Príncipe. Its population is 2,620 (2012), about 35% of the island's population. The town is known for its colonial architecture and for its churches: Church of Our Lady of the Conception and Church of Our Lady of the Rosary. The town is also known for the Auto das Floripes play, which is performed by the citizens.

Príncipe island off of the coast of Africa

Príncipe is the smaller, northern major island of the country of São Tomé and Príncipe lying off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea. It has an area of 136 square kilometres (53 sq mi) and a population of 7,324 (2012). The island is a heavily eroded volcano speculated to be over three million years old, surrounded by smaller islands including Ilheu Bom Bom, Ilhéu Caroço, Tinhosa Grande and Tinhosa Pequena. Part of the Cameroon Line archipelago, Príncipe rises in the south to 947 metres at Pico do Príncipe. The island is the main constituent of the Autonomous Region of Príncipe, established in 1995, and of the coterminous district of Pagué.

São Tomé and Príncipe country in Africa

São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main islands of São Tomé and Príncipe, about 140 kilometres apart and about 250 and 225 kilometres off the northwestern coast of Gabon, respectively.

Located next to the fortress is a lighthouse, built in 1996. [2] Its focal height is 54 meters and its range is 9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi). [3]

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Tinhosa Pequena island

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Fortaleza de Santo António da Ponta da Mina building in São Tomé and Prí­ncipe

Fortaleza de Santo António da Ponta da Mina or Forte de Ponta da Mina is a ruined fort located east of the island capital Santo António in the island of Príncipe in São Tomé and Príncipe. It is located at the headland Ponta da Mina. The fortress consisted of two parts: the Bateria Real and the Bateria do Príncipe.

Pedra da Galé

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Canal das Rolas

The Canal das Rolas is a strait of the Atlantic Ocean separating the small Ilhéu das Rolas from the southernmost point of the island of São Tomé, in São Tomé and Príncipe. It is 1.2 nautical miles wide. There is a ferry departing from Ponta Baleia on São Tomé Island to Ilhéu das Rolas.

References

  1. ↑ Sailing Directions (Enroute), Pub. 123: Southwest Coast of Africa (PDF). Sailing Directions . United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2017. p. 74.
  2. ↑ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of São Tomé and Príncipe". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  3. ↑ List of Lights, Pub. 113: The West Coasts of Europe and Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and Azovskoye More (Sea of Azov) (PDF). List of Lights . United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2018. p. 441.
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