Azores Islands voted 2nd most appealing destination
The Azores archipelago was voted the 2nd most appealing destination to visit, by the National Geographic Traveler team. See Azores pictures here.
The Azores, an outline of garden-like islands on the horizons of the Atlantic ocean. Peace and quiet, flowers in the fields, in the villages, in the houses. The blue and green of dreamy lagoons. A pace of life in which there is time to stop and appreciate living. Art treasures that recall pages of a centuries-long history. Nature in its original splendor. A meeting with the past involved in everyday life. An invitation to discover and experience a different world, repeated on each of the nine islands of the Azores.
Azores is a Portuguese archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, about 1,500 km (950 mi) from Lisbon and about 3,900 km (2,400 mi) from the east coast of North America. The two westernmost Azorean islands (Flores and Corvo) actually lie on the North American plate and are only 1,925 km (1,200 mi) from St. John's in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The mountain of Pico on Pico Island, at 2,351 m (7,713 ft) 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 archipelago forms the Autonomous Region of Azores, one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal.
Because these once uninhabited, remote islands were settled sporadically over a span of two centuries, their culture, dialect, cuisine and traditions vary considerably from island to island. Farming and fishing are key industries that support the Azorean economy. These traditional trades give the Azores an unspoiled, historic and authentically European feel that is becoming harder to find in other nearby locations. Visitors find plenty to see and do here, with upscale lodging and restaurants integrating with both the tiny, rural towns and the sometimes wild and lush landscapes that make up the islands
Although 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 discovery, in fact the bird never existed on the islands. Some historians indicate the archaic Portuguese word "azules" (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
The islands were known in the fourteenth century and parts of them can be seen, for example, in the Atlas Catalan. In 1427, one of the captains sailing for Henry the Navigator, possibly Gonçalo Velho, rediscovered the Azores, but this is not certain. A History of the Azores by Thomas Ashe written in 1813 marks the discovery by Joshua Vander Berg of Bruges in Flanders.
Colonization
The colonization of the then-unoccupied islands started in 1439 with people mainly from the continental provinces of Algarve and Alentejo. In 1583, Philip II of Spain, as king of Portugal, sent his fleet to clear the Azores of a combined multinational force of adventurers, mercenaries, volunteers and soldiers who were attempting to establish the Azores as a staging post for a rival pretender to the Portuguese throne. Following the success of his fleet at the Battle of Ponta Delgada, the captured enemy were hanged from yardarms, as they were considered pirates by Philip II. (This was added to the "Black Legend" by his enemies.) The Azores were the second-to-last part of the Portuguese empire to resist Philip's reign over Portugal (Macau being the last) and were returned to Portuguese control with the end of the Iberian Union, not by the professional military, who were used in the Restoration War in the mainland, but by local people attacking a fortified Castilian garrison (guarnición).
Geography
The archipelago is spread out in the area between 37° N and the parallel that passes through Lisbon (39° 43' / 39° 55' N), giving it a tepid oceanic subtropical climate, with mild annual oscillation. The average annual rainfall increases from east to west and ranges from 700 to 1600 annual millimetres (27.6-63 in) on average, reaching 6,300 millimetres (250 in) in Mount Pico (the highest Portuguese mountain at 2,351 m/7,713 ft).
The Azores High, an area of high atmospheric pressure, is named after the islands. The Formigas (the Portuguese word for "ants") islands (also known as Dollabarat Reefs) have rich maritime fauna, including exotic species such as the black coral and manta rays, sharks, and sea turtles. The archipelago lies in the Palearctic ecozone, forming a unique biome that includes the macaronesian subtropical laurissilva, with many endemic species of plants.
Even though the Azores look very green and sometimes wild, the vegetation has been extremelly altered. Most of the original laurisilva has been wiped out for its valuable wood (for tools, buildings, boats, fire wood, etc) and to clear land for agriculture. Many cultivated places (which are traditionnaly dedicated to pasture or to growing colocasia, potatoes, maize and other crops) have now been abandoned, especially as a result of emigration. Consequently, some "invasive" plants filled these deserted and disturbed lands. The two most common of these exotic species are Pittosporum undulatum and Acacia melanoxylon. They are usually restricted to ancient agricultural land and fortunately only rarely penetrate into undisturbed native vegetation. The main loss is on the lowland (below 400 m) where virtually all laurisilva was eradicated. A few Persea and Picconia still survive in some places, but appear to be extremely vulnerable.
Only Myrica faya seems to have gone through human impact pretty well and is commonly found in hedges or mixed within exotic trees. More recent introdictions could become serious threat, like Leptospermum scoparium which has got the ability to colonize the still quite untouched medium altitude vegetation (Ilex, Myrsine, Erica, etc). Hydrangeas are another potential pest, but to a lesser degree. Notwithstanding the fact that Hydrangeas are introduced from America or Asia, some locals consider them as a symbol of the archipelago and propagate them along roadsides, helping them to escape eventually in the wild.
Cryptomeria, the Japanese cedar, is a conifer extensively grown for its timber and of which many seedlings can be found in the last medium altitude native vegetation remnants.
The nine islands have a total area of 2,346 km2 (906 sq mi). Their individual areas vary between São Miguel's 759 km2 (293 sq mi) and Corvo's 17 km2 (7 sq mi).
Geology
The islands are located atop an active triple junction between three large tectonic plates:
- the North American Plate,
- the Eurasian Plate
- the African Plate.
Volcanism associated with the formation of the islands arises from the fact that the Azores Triple Junction involves rifting, a process whereby the crust is spreading along three ridge legs radiating out from the triple junction. The volcanism is also related to the Azores hotspot. The islands began forming during the Tertiary period. Pico, a volcano that stands 2,351 metres (7,713 ft) high on the island of the same name, has the highest altitude in the Azores and all of Portugal.
The last volcano to erupt was the Capelinhos Volcano (Vulcão dos Capelinhos) in 1957, in the western part of Faial Island, increasing the size of the island by 2.4km, but it's estimated that the great part of it will be washed away in next 20 years. Santa Maria Island is the oldest Azorean island, formed 4.8 million years ago, and is the only island in the Azores with an abundance of sediments where marine fossils have been discovered.
Population
The vast majority of the inhabitants of the Azores are Portuguese, descendants of 15th century immigrants from Algarve and from Minho, with a minor Dutch admixture (particularly from Flanders). The nature of the economy dictated that African slavery never became common in the Azores, although the islands sometimes served as a way point for ships carrying African slaves.
Since the 17th century, many Azoreans have emigrated, mainly to Brazil, the United States and Canada.Southeastern Massachusetts, especially the cities of New Bedford and Fall River, was a primary destination for Azorean emigrants
