Monte Gordo, Cape Verde

Monte Gordo is a mountain on the island of São Nicolau, Cape Verde. At 1,312 m elevation, it is the island's highest point. It is situated in the western part of the island, 6 km west of the island capital Ribeira Brava. The mountain is of volcanic origin. The boundary of the municipalities Tarrafal de São Nicolau and Ribeira Brava runs over the mountain. It is part of a natural park (name: Monte Gordo Natural Park (Portuguese: Parque Natural de Monte Gordo)), which has been created to protect the typical humid mountain ecosystem, it was established on February 24, 2003 and is category V by the UICN, it also forms a part of the Central mountain range of Ilha de São Nicolau Important Bird Area. Plant species found on the mountain slopes include Euphorbia tuckeyana, Limonium jovibarba and the endangered Nauplius smithii.

Map of Monte Gordo, Cape Verde

Villages inslde the mountain range includes Cachaço, Cabeçalinho, Covada and Fragata. Villages on the foot of the mountain include Hortelão, Palhal and Ribeira dos Calhaus, much of the villages are partly covered by the park area, Ribeira dos Calhaus are completely covered by the natural park.

Monte Gordo is connected with the EN1-SN-01 1.4 kilometers with the EN3-SN05 (or Route 3, Insular Route 5).

Much of the area are fortested especially with laurisilva and pine trees. Some of the higher parts of the site are forested, especially around Monte Gordo where relatively high rainfall and frequent misty conditions cause the trees to be thickly covered with lichens.

Its geology consists of the Monte Gordo formation which is made up of rocks that are about 1.7 to 1.5 million years, the younger rocks are about 100,000 to 50,000 years old.