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The Azores (Portuguese: Açores,
are an archipelago of Portuguese islands in
the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, about
1,500 km from Lisbon and about 3,900 km from
the east coast of North America.
The nine Azorean Islands extend for more
than 600 km, and lie in a
northwest-southeast direction. The vast
extension of the islands defines an immense
exclusive economic zone of 1.1 million km².
The westernmost point of this area is 3,380
km from the North American continent. All of
the islands have volcanic origins, though
Santa Maria also has some reef contribution.
The mountain of Pico on Pico Island, at
2,351 m in altitude, is the highest in all
of Portugal. The Azores are actually the
tops of some of the tallest mountains on the
planet, as measured from their base at the
bottom of the ocean. The islands are an
autonomous region of Portugal.
Though it is commonly said that the
archipelago is named after the goshawk (Açor
in Portuguese), because it was supposed to
be a common bird at the time of the
discovery, it actually never existed on the
islands. Some historians indicate the
archaic Portuguese word "azures" (the plural
of blue) because of the colour of the
islands when seen from afar. Most, however,
insist that the name is derived from birds,
pointing to a local subspecies of the
buzzard (Buteo buteo), as the animal the
first explorers erroneously identified as
goshawks.
History
Old map of Azores IslandsIn 1427, one of the
captains sailing for Henry the Navigator
discovered the Azores, possibly Gonçalo
Velho, but this is not certain. The
colonization of the then-unoccupied islands
started in 1439 with people mainly from the
continental provinces of Algarve and
Alentejo; in the following centuries
settlers from other European countries
arrived, most notably from Northern France
and the Flanders. In 1583, Philip II of
Spain as king of Portugal, sent his combined
Iberian fleet to clear the French traders
from the Azores, decisively hanging his
prisoners-of-war from the yardarms and
contributing to the "Black Legend". The
Azores were the second-to-last part of the
Portuguese empire to resist Philip's reign
over Portugal (Macau being the last).
The 1820 civil war, in Portugal, had strong
repercussion in the Azores. In 1829, in Vila
da Praia, the liberals won over the
absolutists, making Terceira Island the main
headquarters of the new Portuguese regime
and also where the Council of Regency (Conselho
de Regência) of Mary II of Portugal was
established.
Beginning in 1868, Portugal issued its
stamps overprinted with "AÇORES" for use in
the islands. Between 1892 and 1906, it also
issued separate stamps for the three
administrative districts of the time.
From 1938 to 1978, the archipelago was
divided into three districts, quite
equivalent (except in area) to those in the
Portuguese mainland. The division was quite
arbitrary, and didn’t follow the natural
island groups, rather reflecting the
location of each district capital on the
three main cities (neither of each on the
western group).
Angra consisted of Terceira, São Jorge, and
Graciosa, with the capital at Angra do
Heroísmo on Terceira.
Horta consisted of Pico, Faial, Flores, and
Corvo, with the capital at Horta on Faial.
Ponta Delgada consisted of São Miguel and
Santa Maria, with the capital at Ponta
Delgada on São Miguel.
In 1976 the Azores became an Autonomous
Region (Região Autónoma dos Açores) and the
Azorean districts were suppressed
Geography
Azorean Islands by Size
Island Area
(km²)
São Miguel Island
759
Pico Island
446
Terceira Island
403
São Jorge Island
246
Faial Island
173
Flores Island
143
Santa Maria Island
97
Graciosa Island
62
Corvo Island
17
The archipelago is spread out in the area of
the parallel that passes through Lisbon
(39º, 43'/39º, 55' North Latitude), giving
it a moderate climate, with mild annual
oscillation. The Azores lie in the
Palearctic ecozone, forming a unique biome
among the world's Temperate broadleaf and
mixed forests, with many endemic species of
plants. The nine islands have a total area
of 2,355 km². Their individual areas vary
between 759 km² (São Miguel) and 17 km² (Corvo).
Three islands (São Miguel, Pico and
Terceira) are bigger in size than Malta
(composed of three different islands), São
Miguel Island alone being twice as big.
The nine islands are divided into three
groups:
The Eastern Group (Grupo
Oriental) of São Miguel, Santa Maria and
Formigas Islets
The Central Group (Grupo Central) of
Terceira, Graciosa, São Jorge, Pico and
Faial
The Western Group (Grupo Ocidental) of
Flores and Corvo.
The islands were formed during the Tertiary
period, in the Alpine phase. Their volcanic
cones and craters reveal the volcanic origin
of most islands. Pico, a volcano that stands
2,351 metres high on the island of the same
name, has the highest altitude in the
Azores. The last volcano to erupt was the
Capelinhos Volcano (Vulcão dos Capelinhos)
in 1957, in western part of Faial island,
increasing the size of that island. Santa
Maria Island is the oldest Azorean island
presenting several limestone and red clay
extensions.
The Azores had a population of 238,767 in 31
December 2002 and a population density of
106 persons/km².
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