Azores Islands - Portugal - Eastern group

Santa Maria (Saint Mary)

The island of Santa Maria is located in the southeastern part of the Azores Island, 80 km south of S. Miguel.
It was the first island in the Azores Archipelago to be discovered. Diogo Silves discovered the island while on his journey to Madeira in 1427. Gonçalo Velho then brought families and cattle to the island.

The islands area is 97.18 km².
The island contains one governing body named Vila do Porto.
Some of the islands houses are so old that they still contain windows that belonged to Capitão Donatário and date back to the 15th century.

Santa Maria is the only island in the Azores with a lot of land that originate from sedimentary, many different marine fossils are found here.

The houses are spread all across the island. ‘Alentejana’ houses are those with large chimneys. The land is very fertile and the rural landscape is very beautiful.

aproach to the island:


Formosa beach:


waterful and ligthouse close to the village of Maia:


the mountainouse interior of the island (590 m at Pico Alto):






the small village of Santa Barbara with ther small beaches, from eare we can see Formigas islets in days with good visibility:

S. Miguel (Saint Michael)

São Miguel is the largest and has the largest population of the Azores Islands. The São Miguel island covers 759km2 and has around 140,000 inhabitants, these people are called Micaelenses. The largest town on São Miguel is Ponta Delgada capital of the islands and residence of Presidente of the autonomous region of Azores.

São Miguel is 90 km from east to west, and between 8 and 15 km wide, the island is mainly covered with fields and meadows in the lowlands, and laurisilva forests in the hills. Geysers and hot springs are spread over the island. São Miguel has three stratovolcanoes and caldeiras, Sete Cidades lagoon, Fogo and Furnas lagoons. The volcanoes are connected between the alignments of the cone-like mass that are made up of peaks.

São Miguel was the first of the Azores islands to be colonised, by the Portuguese in 1433.
Originally, São Miguel was two islands. In 1563, the island was joined by a volcanic eruption.

the island see from the air:

the west of the island:
the west point, village of Mosteiros:

lagoon and village of Sete Cidades (seven cities):







the center of the island:
on the road to east:


tea plantation call Gorreana:

the beach close to the plantation:

an old barrage from the end of the XIX century:


a waterful close to the barrage:

the area of caldeira velha, termal waters born in the geysers:





Lagoa do Fogo (Fire lagoon), natural reserve:



furnas valley with the lagoon of Furnas and the village of Furnas



Terra Nostra park in Furnas:



in the lagoon:




east of the island:
in the road again:




view to the village of Povoação:




the village of Faial da Terra:

a small river o forms a cascade:


the village of Nordeste, the moust eastern area of the island:

the capital city Ponta Delgada in the island of São Miguel (Saint Michael)












the old city center:
mais square Portas da Cidade:




the cathedral:



by the old streets:






another square:



the residence of the President:

the old Jesuit college:

maps:

the islands, 1500 west of Portugal, 3900 km east of Newfoudland:


the island of São Miguel (saint Michael):

Furnas lake - S. Miguel

oldirty718 said:

Azores, the old city center (i would never guess its Portugal actually :shifty and the other places look gorgeous, as all of Portugal! And so greenish! Does the old city center looks kinda British (but with better weather) or is it just me?! :shifty:

Click to expand...

city center it is Azorean traditional architecture :dunno:

^^ Well some pics of the Azores remind me of Canada
(with the lagoons, lakes, fin and pine trees), while others
look quite tropical. Then again some places remind me of
the South African landscape, and the architecture of the
old city center looks quite ... I don't know (British?). In
any ways these places look awesome and so diverse!!