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The Azores: The Bradt Travel Guide

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Nothing about the Azores islands is what you would expect. They exist in the middle of the Atlantic where there should be no land. Their culture is European, the flora Asian, the terrain a wild meeting of volcano and sea. And, in the midst of these nine Portuguese islands, one finds a common volcanic past, and very little in common. This is the perfect guide, it has all the info you need.

Fist, let me explain first that the Azores are an autonomous region of Portugal, some 2,000 nautical miles due east of Portsmouth, and 1,000 nautical miles off the coast of Portugal. They were created by violent volcanic activity some 100 million years ago, and exist at the meeting place of the tectonic plates of Africa, Europe and America. Consisting of nine islands, it is divided into three groups: the eastern (São Miguel and Santa Maria), the central (Terceira, Graciosa, São Jorge, Pico and Faial), and the western (Corvo and Flores). The islands were uninhabited until Portuguese sailors sighted them in the 1420s. By 1450 the first Portuguese settlements has been built.