Sao Tome and Principe Information

Introduction : prior to the Portuguese discovery of the islands in the 15 th century, they were uninhabited. The Sao Tome and Principe is also the smallest nation in Africa remained as a Portuguese colony from then on until it attained liberty in the year 1975. Mostly used by the colonizers as a coffee and cocoa plantation, the islands' chief purpose was to serve as a trade site with Africa.

Location of Sao Tome and Principe : the island nation of Sao Tome and Principe, which are a part of the African

continent, is located just off the northwestern coast of the continent's mainland, at a distance of about 250-300 Kms.The Equator lies directly below the Sao Tome Island. The water body surrounding it is the Gulf of Guinea. Sao Tome and Principe's nearest political neighbor is Gabon which is situated east of it.

Physical Map of Sao Tome and Principe : the nation of Sao Tome and Principe is made up of two main islands – the Sao Tome Island and the Principe Island – which are some 140 apart from each other. There are also five atolls. The islands are basically extinct volcanoes, and so are mountainous. The Sao Tome Island lies south of the Principe Island and immediately north of the Equator

Climate of Sao Tome and Principe : the island nation of Sao Tome and Principe is a typical tropical African nation. Summers are hot and winters pleasant. However, humidity is a constant factor throughout the year. The island nation has one rainy spell in the year that lasts between the months of October and May.

Flora and Fauna of Sao Tome and Principe :

Flora : the islands of Sao Tome and Principe are divided into coffee and cocoa plantations on the one hand and dense tropical rainforests on the other. Other type of plants in the island country includes ferns and orchids – which come in around 100 different species. The most endemic of the island's vegetation is the Sao Tome giant begonia.

Fauna : the unique and rare fauna in the islands of Sao Tome and Principe comprise of such species as Mona monkey, black rat, and African civet. Aside of these the island is renowned for its turtles. Some of the turtle species that occupy the islands are the green turtle, the leatherback, the olive riddley, the hawksbill and the caouanne. The islands of Sao Tome and Principe are also an ornithologist's paradise. The popular birds of the islands are African Gray Parrot, Dorhn's thrush-babbler, Sao Tome giant sunbirds, dwarf olive ibis, thrush, Principe white-eye, Sao Tome short tail, giant weaver, Maroon pigeon and the Sao Tome fiscal shrike.