page_title: Azores
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Azores / Geography
caption_attribution_description: Map of Azores Islands (Portugal) drawn by varp
context_page_description: The Azores is an archipelago of nine volcanic islands in the North Atlantic Ocean; they are about 1,500 km west of Lisbon and about 1,900 km southeast of Newfoundland. The islands, and their Exclusive Economic Zone, form the Autonomous Region of the Azores, one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal.
  There are nine major Azores islands and several very small islands, in three main groups. They extend for more than 600 km and lie in a northwest-southeast direction.
  The archipelago is part of the Macaronesia islands.
context_section_description: The archipelago is in the Atlantic Ocean between 36º and 43º latitude North and between 25º and 31º longitude West. They have a very humid oceanic climate with relatively small annual variations.
  The nine islands are in three natural geographic groups, each group separated by more than 160 km (99 mi) of water. These groups are:
  The eastern group, with the islands of São Miguel and Santa Maria;
  The central group, with the islands of Faial, Terceira, Graciosa, São Jorge, and Pico;
  The western group, with the islands of Flores and Corvo.
  The eastern group also has, to the northeast of Santa Maria, a group of very small islands (islets) and reefs that are named Ilhéus das Formigas (Islets of the Ants), or just Formigas ("Ants"); these smalls islands, together with the Dollabarat reef, form the Reserva Natural do Ilhéu das Formigas.
  The nine islands have a total area of 2,333 km² (901 sq mi). Their individual areas vary between 759 km² (293 sq mi) of the largest island (São Miguel) to 17 km² (6.6 sq mi) of the smallest (Corvo).
  All the islands have volcanic origins, although some, such as Santa Maria, have had no recorded activity since the islands were settled. The last volcano to erupt in the archipelago was the Capelinhos Volcano (Portuguese: Vulcão dos Capelinhos) in 1957, in the western part of the island of Faial. Earthquakes are common on most of the islands.
  The Azores are on place where three of the world's large tectonic plates (the North American Plate, the Eurasian Plate and the African Plate) meet. The westernmost islands of the archipelago, (Corvo and Flores), are in the North American Plate, while the remaining islands are located within the region where the Eurasian plate is separated from the African Plates.
  The volcano Mount Pico, on the Pico island, is the highest point in Portugal, at 2,351 m (7,713 ft).
caption: Map of the Azores Islands.
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