Sao Miguel, Azores

Steven Dutch, Professor Emeritus, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay

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The Azores sit atop a volcanic plateau astride the triple junction of the North American, African and Eurasian plates.

Geology of Sao Miguel. Hachured lines are caldera rims. The Picos region, so called because of its large number of extinct volcanic cones, is the most recently active area. Despite its small size, the eastern half looks like a hot spot track. At roughly 40 km in 4 million years, that works out to about one centimeter per year, a reasonable rate of spreading.

Agua de Pau is a geothermal area.

Below: Church of Sao Sebastiao.
	Left: The white and chocolate brown color scheme is due to the contrast between whitewash and the native volcanic stone.
	Chaffinches are pretty little European birds with a subdued color scheme: pale orange breast, blue gray head and yellow-green backs.
	It's hard not to love chaffinches.
Sete Cidades (Seven Cities) is a caldera at the western end of the island with two lakes.
	Volcanic deposits.
	Clinkery aa lava.
Right and below: Volcanic cones.
Below: Ponta Delgada with volcanic cones beyond.
Views along the southeast coast.

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Created 28 November 2018, Last Update 31 May 2020