Azores

The Azores, officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores, is an autonomous region of Portugal, in the Atlantic Ocean about 1,400 km (870 miles) west of mainland Portugal. Together with Madeira, it's one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal and a special territory of the European Union. It is the westernmost point and region of Portugal.

The Azores is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atlantic Ocean. There are nine major Azorean islands and an islet cluster, in three main groups. These are Flores and Corvo to the west; Graciosa, Terceira, São Jorge, Pico, and Faial in the centre; and São Miguel, Santa Maria, and the Formigas islets to the east. They extend for more than 600 km (370 mi) and lie in a northwest–southeast direction. All the islands have volcanic origins, although some, such as Santa Maria, have had no recorded activity in the time since the islands were settled several centuries ago. Mount Pico on the island of Pico is the highest point in Portugal, at 2,351 m (7,713 ft). If measured from their base at the bottom of the ocean to their peaks, the Azores are among the tallest mountains on the planet. The Azores are located at the seismically active Azores triple junction plate boundary where the North American plate, Eurasian plate and Nubian plate meet.

The climate is very mild for such a northerly location, being influenced by its distance from the continents and by the passing Gulf Stream. Because of the marine influence, temperatures remain mild year-round. Daytime temperatures normally fluctuate between 16 and 25 °C (61 and 77 °F) depending on season. Temperatures above 30 °C (86 °F) or below 3 °C (37 °F) are unknown in the major population centres. It is also generally wet and cloudy.

Its main industries are agriculture, dairy farming, livestock, fishing, and tourism, which has become a major service activity in the region. In the 20th century and to some extent into the 21st, the Azores have served as a waypoint for refueling aircraft flying between Europe and North America. The government of the Azores employs a large percentage of the population directly or indirectly in the service and tertiary sectors. The largest city is Ponta Delgada. The culture, dialect, cuisine, and traditions of the islands vary considerably, because these remote islands were settled sporadically over a span of two centuries.

A small number of alleged hypogea (underground structures carved into rocks) have been identified on the islands of Corvo, Santa Maria, and Terceira by Portuguese archaeologist Nuno Ribeiro, who speculated that they might date back 2,000 years, implying a human presence on the islands before the Portuguese. These structures have been used by settlers in the Azores to store grain. The suggestion by Ribeiro that they might be burial sites is unconfirmed. Detailed examination and dating to authenticate the validity of these speculations are lacking; thus it is unclear whether these structures are natural or human-made and whether they predate the 15th century Portuguese colonization of the Azores.

According to a 2015 paper published in Journal of Evolutionary Biology, research based on mouse mitochondrial DNA points to a Scandinavian rather than Portuguese origin of the local mouse population. A 2021 paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, using data from lake sediment core sampling, suggests brush-clearing was undertaken and animal husbandry introduced between 700 and 850 A.D. These findings suggest a brief period of Norse settlement, and the 2021 paper further cites climate simulations that suggest the dominant westerly winds in the North Atlantic Ocean were weaker in that period, which would have made it easier for Viking ships to sail to the Azores from Scandinavia.

In 1427 a captain sailing for Prince Henry the Navigator, possibly Gonçalo Velho, may have discovered the Azores, but this is not certain. In Thomas Ashe's 1813 work A History of the Azores, the author identified a Fleming, Joshua Vander Berg of Bruges, who made landfall in the archipelago during a storm on his way to Lisbon. According to Ashe, the Portuguese explored the area and claimed it for Portugal. Other writers note the discovery of the first islands (São Miguel, Santa Maria and Terceira) by sailors in the service of Henry the Navigator, although there are few documents to support such claims.

Although it is commonly said that the archipelago received its name from açor (Portuguese for goshawk, a common bird at the time of discovery) it is unlikely that the bird ever nested or hunted on the islands. There were no large animals on Santa Maria; after its discovery and before settlement began, sheep were let loose on the island to supply future settlers with food.