Azores

The **Azores** () is an archipelago of nine volcanic islands in the North Atlantic Ocean; they are about  west of Lisbon and about  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 (islets), in three main groups. They extend for more than  and lie in a northwest-southeast direction.

The archipelago is part of the Macaronesia islands.

## History

Officially, the islands were discovered in the 15th century (in 1431) by Gonçalo Velho Cabral a Captain in the service of Infante Dom Henrique, although credit is also given to the explorer Diogo de Silves (in 1427).

The archipelago was settled over the centuries, mostly from mainland Portugal. Portuguese settlers came from the provinces of Algarve, Minho, Alentejo and Ribatejo, as well as Madeira.

In 1976, the Azores became the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), an autonomous region of Portugal.

## Geography

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  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 . Their individual areas vary between  of the largest island (São Miguel) to  of the smallest (Corvo).

|style="width:130px;" rowspan=2|Island|rowspan=2|Area <small>(km<sup>2</sup>)</small>|colspan=2|Highest point|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|São Miguel|759|1,103|Pico da Vara|||
|Pico|446|2,351|Mount Pico|||
|Terceira|403|1,021|Serra de Santa Barbara|||
|São Jorge|246|1,053|Pico da Esperânça|||
|Faial|173|1,043|Cabeço Gordo|||
|Flores|143|914|Morro Alto|||
|Santa Maria|97|587|Pico Alto|||
|Graciosa|62|404|Caldeira|||
|Corvo|17|718|Morro dos Hormens|||

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 () 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 .

### Climate

Daily maximum temperatures usually range between  and . The average annual rainfall increases from east to west, and it ranges from 700 to 1600 annual millimetres (27.6–63 in) on average, reaching  on Mount Pico.

The sea around the Azores is warmed by the Gulf Stream and sea water temperature varies from  to .

### Hurricanes

A total of 11 tropical or subtropical cyclones have affected the region in history. Most of them were either extratropical or tropical storms when they impacted the region, although several hurricanes of Category 1 have reached the Azores.

## Administration

When the Azores became an Autonomous Region of Portugal, the cities of Ponta Delgada, Angra and Horta were considered capital/administrative cities to the regional government: homes to the President (Ponta Delgada), the Judiciary (Angra) and the Regional Assembly (Horta).

The Azores are divided into 19 municipalities (); each municipality is further divided into parishes (), of which there is a total of 156 in all of the Azores.  The municipalities, by island, are:

|style="border-right-style:none" align="right"|<small>Oriental islands</small>|style="border-left-style:none" align="left"|<small>_(Grupo Oriental)_</small>|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|style="border-right-style:none" align="right"|<small>Central islands</small>|style="border-left-style:none" align="left"|<small>_(Grupo Central)_</small>|
|style="border-right-style:none" align="right"|<small>Western island</small>|style="border-left-style:none" align="left"|<small>_(Grupo Ocidental)_</small>|
|Island|Population|Local Administrative Units|Capital|2011|% Total|No|Municipalities (_Concelhos_)|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|São Miguel|137,830|55.86|6|Lagoa, Nordeste, Ponta Delgada, Povoação, Ribeira Grande, Vila Franca do Campo|Ponta Delgada|||
|Santa Maria|5,552|2.25|1|Vila do Porto|Vila do Porto|||
|Faial|14,994|6.08|1|Horta|Horta|||
|Pico|14,148|5.73|3|Lajes do Pico, Madalena do Mar, São Roque do Pico|Madalena do Mar|||
|Graciosa|4,391|1.78|1|Santa Cruz da Graciosa|Santa Cruz da Graciosa|||
|São Jorge|9,171|3.72|2|Calheta, Velas|Velas|||
|Terceira|56,437|22.87|2|Angra do Heroísmo, Praia da Vitória|Angra do Heroísmo|||
|Flores|3,793|1.54|2|Lajes das Flores, Santa Cruz das Flores|Santa Cruz das Flores|||
|Corvo|430|0.17|1|Vila Nova do Corvo|Vila Nova do Corvo|||
|Total|246,746||19|||||

### Cities

There are five cities () in the Azores:
1. **Ponta Delgada** (), São Miguel island, with 68,809 inhabitants: 33,516 men and 35,293 women.
1. **Ribeira Grande** (), São Miguel island, with 32,112 inhabitants: 16,187 men and 15,925 women.
1. **Angra do Heroísmo** (), Terceira island, with 35,402 inhabitants: 17,270 men and 18, 132 women.
1. **Praia da Vitória** (), Terceira island, with 21,035 inhabitants: 10,434 men and 10,601 women.
1. **Horta** (), Faial island, with 14,994 inhabitants: 7,324 men and 7,670 women.

## Population

According to the 2011 Census, the total population in the Azores was 246,746: 121,533 men and 125,213 women. The density for the whole Archipelago is 106 persons/km<sup>2</sup>.

## Economy

The Azores economy is based mainly on agriculture, fisheries and tourism.

In the agriculture sector, cattle-raising is very important. Some of the most important crops in the Azores are pineapples, grapes, potatoes, tobacco and tea. Fisheries are an important economic activity on all islands. Fishing methods are highly traditional among Azorean fishermen. Industry in the Azores is based mainly on the production of dairy products (milk, cheese) and transformation of fisheries products, such as tuna.

It is tourism, however, that has been growing more in recent years. It is far less developed than those industries of its Macaronesian neighbours, Madeira and Canary Islands.

## Other websites

- Azores Regional Government

## Infobox (infobox)

- **child**: yes
- **headerstyle**: text-align:left;
- **labelstyle**: font-weight:normal;
- **header1**: National and European Representation
- **rowclass2**: mergedrow
- **label2**: <div style="text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal;">• Assembly of the Republic (Portugal), Assembly of the Republic</div>
- **data2**: 5 Member of parliament#Portugal, Members of parliament
- **rowclass3**: mergedrow
- **label3**: <div style="text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal;">• European Parliament</div>
- **data3**: 1 Member of the European Parliament, MEP


## Infobox (dependency)

- **name**: Azores
- **native name**: Açores
- **settlement type**: Autonomous Regions of Portugal, Autonomous Region
- **official name**:

- **image flag**: Flag_of_the_Azores.svg
- **flag size**: 125px
- **flag alt**: Blue and white bands, superimposed by golden goshawk and surmounted by nine stars with traditional Portuguese shield in the left corner.
- **flag link**: Flag of the Azores
- **image seal**: Coat of arms of the Azores.svg
- **seal size**: 85px
- **seal type**: Coat of Arms
- **seal link**: Coat of arms of the Azores
- **etymology**: _açor_ <small>(Portuguese language, Portuguese for northern goshawk)</small>
- **motto**:
<small>(English: "Rather die free than subjected in peace")</small>
- **anthem**:
<small>("Anthem of the Azores")</small>
- **image map**: Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
- **map alt**: Location of the Azores within the European Union
- **map caption**: Location of the Azores within the European Union
- **mapsize**: 290px
- **subdivision type**: Sovereign state
- **established title**: Settlement
- **established date**: 1432
- **established title3**: Autonomous Regions of Portugal, Political Autonomy
- **established date3**: 30 April 1976
- **official languages**: European Portuguese, Portuguese
- **demonym**:
<small>(English: Azorean)</small>
- **capital type**: Administrative centre, Capitals
- **largest city**: Ponta Delgada
- **government type**: Autonomous Regions of Portugal, Autonomous Region
- **leader title1**: Representative of the Portuguese Republic
- **leader name1**: Pedro Manuel dos Reis Alves Catarino
- **leader title2**: Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, President of the Legislative Assembly
- **leader name2**: Luís Garcia
- **leader title3**: President of the Regional Government
- **leader name3**: José Manuel Bolieiro
- **leader title4**: Vice-President of the Regional Government
- **leader name4**: Artur Lima
- **legislature**: Legislative Assembly of the Azores, Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores
- **area km2**: 2,351
- **elevation max m**: 2,351
- **elevation max point**: Mount Pico
- **elevation min m**: 0
- **elevation min point**: Atlantic Ocean
- **population census**: 236,440
- **population census year**: 2021
- **population density km2**: 110
- **gdp ppp**: €4.128 billion
- **gdp ppp year**: 2017
- **gdp ppp per capita**: €16,900
- **currency**: EUR (€)
- **currency code**: EUR
- **timezone**: Time in Portugal#IANA time zone database, Atlantic/Azores
- **utc offset**: −1
- **timezone dst**: Time in Portugal#IANA time zone database, Atlantic/Azores
- **utc offset dst**: ±0UTC
- **date format**: dd/mm/yyyy (Common Era, CE)
- **drives on**: right
- **calling code**: Telephone numbers in Portugal, +351 (292)
- **iso code**: PT-20
- **blank7 name sec1**: Usual abbreviation
- **blank7 info sec1**: RAA