Mountain · Cape Verde
Pico do Fogo
Pico do Fogo is the highest mountain of Cape Verde, a black volcanic cone of 2 829 metres. It grew inside an older crater on the island of Fogo, far out in the Atlantic Ocean.
Picture credit: Ximonic (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Yves PICQ (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Pico do Fogo?
Pico do Fogo is part of the volcano on the island of Fogo.
You will find it in: Cape Verde.
Summit: 14.950° N, 24.342° W
The story behind it
Pico do Fogo is a living volcano. Its cone sits inside a huge bowl called Chã das Caldeiras, whose wall rises like a curved cliff on one side while the other side is open towards the sea. People live inside that bowl, on ground made of ash and old lava, and they grow vines, beans and coffee there because the volcanic soil holds water well. The slopes are almost black, covered with loose cinders that slide away under every step, so walkers climb slowly and come down again in huge jumping strides. Fogo means fire in Portuguese, and the island earned the name honestly: the volcano has erupted many times, sending lava through the fields and forcing families to rebuild their houses. Guides lead visitors to the crater rim, where warm steam still drifts out of cracks in the rock.
Find it on the globe
Pico do Fogo is there as a small peak with its own shape — a horn, a ridge, a volcano — standing on the surface. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.
It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.
Questions children ask
How high is Pico do Fogo?
The crater rim reaches 2 829 metres above the sea. Since the island rises straight out of deep water, the climb from the coast to the top feels even longer than the number suggests.
Which country is Pico do Fogo in?
The volcano belongs to Cape Verde, an island country west of Africa. It stands on Fogo, one of the southern islands, and can be seen from neighbouring islands on clear days.
Can you climb Pico do Fogo?
Yes, many visitors walk up from the villages in the caldera with a local guide. The climb takes several hours on loose ash, and it is only allowed when the volcano is quiet.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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