Geographically,
Praia may be described as a set of plateaus and their surrounding valleys.
These plateaus generally have the name achada (Achada de Santo
António, Achada de São Filipe, AchadaEugénio Lima, Achada Grande, Achadinha,
etc. — achada being a Portuguese word to designate a volcanic
plateau), but the central one is colloquially called Plateau (in
Portuguese itself). The urban settlement is
