“And Fire Exploded from Seven Places…” – SÃO JORGE – Azores Part 6

Aerial view of São Jorge with the westernmost headland of Ponta dos Rosais in the foreground. (© José Luís Ávila Silveira/Pedro Noronha de Costa)

“After another seven days, a fire exploded in the vicinity of the parish of Santo Amaro, where it opened two mouths of fire, such as two great ravines of fluid material, and with such force that on the second day, we encountered more than a moio of fields of lava in the direction of the homes, forcing the people to flight; the vicar, Rev. Amaro Pereira de Lemos, lost his senses and his sister D. Anna Maria de Lemos went crazy.“
(Father João Ignácio da Silveira, May 1808)

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Volcano & Verdelho – PICO – Azores Part 5

Aerial view eastwards and into the crater of Mt. Pico, with the cone Piquinho rising another seventy meters. (© Herbert Terra, via Panoramio)

Pico volcano is the youngest in the Azores islands, a kid of just 6000 years. Although it hasn’t been playing with fire in the last few centuries, in a geological time scale he and his siblings have been constantly active during the Holocene. The Island of Pico in the Central Azores group presents 173 square miles of most diverse volcanic landscape – dotted with crater lakes and marshes, with extensive lava fields and caves. It is the most important natural reserve of the Azores. The coast of Pico is dominated by steep slopes with fantastic viewpoints, lava arches and vineyards. Some of the local wines that should be tasted by any visiting volcanoholic are “Magma”, “Basalto” or “Terras d’ Lava” 😉 .

Coming to the Point: FAIAL – Azores part 4

Aerial view of the Capelinhos volcano. (© Herbert Terra, via Panoramio)

Terceira, The Third – Azores part 3

Coastal cliffs, Terceira (jalvarezg @CC)

Azores part 2 – tectonics

Azores Plateau from Weiss, et all

3 + 2 Volcanoes: São Miguel Island, Azores

Cinder cones on São Miguel (© Helen Simonsson, Wikimedia)