Câmara de Lobos

Câmara de Lobos (pron. IPA ['kɐmɐɾɐ dɨ 'loβuʃ]; Portuguese meaning chamber of the wolves) is a parish in the west-central part of Madeira. Câmara de Lobos is named after the area where sea-wolves lobos-marinhos are found. They are the monk seals, two of which are also seen in its coat of arms. Today, there are fewer monk seals than a couple of decades ago. Câmara de Lobos is the second largest major parish in population after Funchal and before Machico. Its parish population is 16,842- and that of the borough is 34,614. The parish is one of the smallest on the island. Its area is 51.82 km². Its density is 667.96/km² thus ranking the second most densest in Madeira. It is located SW of Santana, W of Machico, W of Funchal and ESE of Calheta. It is linked with a road linking Calheta and Funchal. The mountains lie slightly north with an elevation of about 150 m and further north there are residential areas. The high rises and condominiums lie nearly 800 m northwest lining up in a row. Câmara de Lobos is almost connected with the urban sprawl with Funchal. Most of the housing developments were done in the mid to late 20th century in the north. Prior to the housing efforts, farmlands used to cover the northern portion of Câmara de Lobos.
The main sources of industry are agriculture and fishing while a small number of businesses are located in the downtown area. The area is separated by Estreito de Câmara de Lobos. The area produces Madeira Wine in its local vineyards. In the western part lies Cabo Girão, one of the highest cliffs in Europe (elevation: 580 m). The small point is south of the small port. The downtown core is in the central part and residential areas lie to the west and the northern part with more buildings over the mountain.