Azores

The Azores (Portuguese: A?ores) are an archipelago of Portuguese islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, about 1,500 km from Lisbon and about 3,900 km from the east coast of North America.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The nine Azorean Islands extend for more than 600 km, and lie in a northwest-southeast direction. The vast extension of the islands defines an immense exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 1.1 million km?. The westernmost point of this area is 3,380 km from the North American continent. All of the islands have volcanic origins, though Santa Maria also has some reef contribution. The mountain of Pico on Pico Island, at 2,351 m 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 islands are an autonomous region of Portugal.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Though it is commonly said that the archipelago is named after the goshawk (A?or in Portuguese), because it was supposed to be a common bird at the time of the discovery, it actually never existed on the islands. Some historians indicate the archaic Portuguese word "azures" (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.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Portuguese: Portuguese is an adjective refering to matters related to Portugal. It may refer to the following articles:...

Archipelago: An archipelago is a landform which consists of a chain or cluster of islands. Archipelagoes usually occur in the open sea; less commonly a large land mass may neighbour them. Archipelagos are often volcanic, forming along ocean ridges or hotspots, but there are many other processes involved in thei...

Island: An island or isle is any piece of land smaller than a continent and larger than a rock that is completely surrounded by water. Very small islands are called islets. Although seldom adhered to, it is also proper to call an emergent land feature on an atoll an islet, since an atoll is a type of islan...

Azores related Images and Photos (experimental)

Sunset Azores Islands

Waterfall Azores Islands