Кабо-Верде аралдары: Боа Вишта сипаттамасы

Cape Verde island

Boa Vista (Portuguese for "good view"), sometimes incorrectly spelled Boavista, is a desert like island that belongs to the Cape Verde Islands. At , it is the third largest island of the Cape Verde archipelago. The island of Boa Vista is closer to the African continent than all the other islands in Cape Verde, being the easternmost island of all. The distance between Boa Vista and Senegal is only 450 km. The capital of Boa Vista, Sal Rei, is located in the north western part of the island. Boa Vista is mainly known for its beaches, turtles and traditional music.

Boa Vista is the third largest island after Santo Antão and Santiago, with an area of 631.1 square kilometres. Monte Santo António, Rocha Estância, Morro de Areia, Morro Negro, Monte Caçador, Pico Forcado and Monte Vigia. Boa Vista is famous for its large beaches like Atalanta, Cabral, Chaves, Ervatão, Gatas, Santa Mónica and Varandinha. Its northernmost point is Ponta do Sol; its westernmost point Ponta Varandinha. Its main river is the Ribeira do Rabil, which has the largest basin area of all Cape Verde at Boa Vista is also notable for its desert Deserto de Viana and its dune fields. Boa Vista is surrounded by a number of uninhabited islets, the largest of which is Ilhéu de Sal Rei.

The uninhabited island Boa Vista was discovered by António de Noli and Diogo Gomes in 1460. Until the end of the 16th century the only human activity on the island was breeding wild cattle. In 1820, after many pirate attacks, the population moved to Porto Inglês, later renamed Sal Rei, which had been founded at the end of the 18th century. As did much of the Cape Verdean economy, the exploitation of salt on Boa Vista also relied largely on slavery. A Portuguese British commission to end slavery was established in Boa Vista in 1842, but slavery was not completely abolished until 1876. Until 1935 the municipality of Boa Vista also covered the island of Sal. In 1975, Cape Verde declared its independence.

Boa Vista is not as abundant in flora and fauna as the other larger or more humid islands such as Santiago and Santo Antão; only 3% of its area is forested.