São Jorge Island
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| São Jorge Island | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Geography | |
 |
|
| Location | Atlantic Ocean |
| Coordinates | |
| Archipelago | Azores Islands |
| Area | 237.59 km² |
| Highest point | Pico da Esperança 1053 m |
| Administration | |
 Portugal |
|
| Autonomous Region | Azores Islands |
| Largest city | Velas (5,585) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 10,500 |
São Jorge (pron. IPA: [sɐ̃ũ 'ʒɔɾʒ(ɨ)]; also known in English as San Jorge) is a Portuguese island in the central part of the Azores. It is separated from Pico Island by 15 km with a strait. Its east to west length is 53 km and its north to south width is 8 km. The area is 237.59 km² and the population is 10,500.
It was first discovered in 1439. The island wasn't populated until twenty years later when colonists came from the provinces of the northern part of Europe. São Jorge is a volcanic island, as are many of the Azorean islands. It has erupted six times between 1580 and 1907. Ten people were killed by the 1580 eruption and eight in 1808. In both eruptions small glowing clouds were reported. A possible submarine eruption was reported southwest of the island in 1964 but was not confirmed.
The highest point is Pico da Esperança at 1,053 meters. The island's agriculture includes cattle, cereals, and fruits. Other main industries include fisheries and dairy products.
Administratively, São Jorge is divided into two municipalities (concelhos), Calheta in the east with five parishes and Velas in the west with six parishes.
 South coast |
 Church in Topo |
[edit] References
- Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program: São Jorge Island
- Scarth, Alwyn; Tanguy, Jean-Claude (2001). Volcanoes of Europe. Oxford University Press, 243 pp. ISBN 0-19-521754-3.
[edit] External links
- Azores.com, a commercial site but with abundant information on São Jorge Island
- (English) The Azores Islands, Site with abundant information about São Jorge Island
|
|||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
