Faial

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Faial
The main town of Horta on Faial
The main town of Horta on Faial
Waters Atlantic Ocean
Archipelago Azores
Geographical location 38 ° 35 ′  N , 28 ° 42 ′  W Coordinates: 38 ° 35 ′  N , 28 ° 42 ′  W
Location of Faial
surface 172 km²
Highest elevation Cabeço Gordo
1043  m
Residents 14,759 (2016)
86 inhabitants / km²
main place Horta
Map of Faial
Map of Faial

Faial is the fifth largest island in the Portuguese Azores archipelago .

It is also called Ilha Azul (English: "blue island") because of the many blue hydrangea hedges . Faial has always played a special role, whether as a stopover for the early transatlantic flights, as a center for telecommunications between Europe and America or as an important marina.

geography

Faial lies between 38 ° 31 'and 38 ° 39' north latitude and between 28 ° 36 'and 28 ° 50' west longitude. The area is 172 km², and the island has an approximate coastline of 80 kilometers. It is about 14 km wide and 21 km long.

The island is of volcanic origin. Its highest point, the Cabeço Gordo with its 1043 meters, testifies to this . The caldera is two kilometers in diameter and about 500 m deep. Faial is the Azores island closest to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge . Again and again the island experienced violent volcanic eruptions. In 1672 an eruption of the Cabeço do Fogo was responsible for the death of numerous families. The most recent volcanic eruptions on Faial took place on September 27, 1957 and then again from December 16, 1957 to May 12, 1958. The island increased by 2.4 km² and the Ponta dos Capelinhos was formed . There has been a museum at the old lighthouse since August 2008, which is dedicated to volcanology and the history of the eruption. A severe earthquake struck the island in 1998 and caused great damage in some villages.

The island has about 15,000 inhabitants, its capital is Horta with 6,500 inhabitants. Other localities are Capelo, Praia do Norte , Cedros, Ribeirinha, Pedro Miguel, Flamengos , Praia do Almoxarife and Castelo Branco.

The island's airport is located on the south coast - ten kilometers from Horta .

history

The until then uninhabited island was discovered and settled in the first half of the 15th century. Diogo de Silves discovered the eastern and central islands of the Azores in 1427. It was sent from the House of Avis by Henry the Navigator , Prince of Portugal . A small group of Portuguese from Terceira Island settled Faial in 1432. In the same year, the Flemish Prince Henry Josse von Huerter ordered the island to be settled. The first Flemish settlement was founded at Praia do Almoxarife, but abandoned shortly afterwards because no water was found there. In 1468 Josse van Huerter was appointed governor of the island. His daughter Joãna de Macedo married Martin Behaim , who inspired the first surviving globe, in the late 1480s .

In 1672 the volcano Cabeço di Fogo erupted. As a result of this volcanic eruption, there was an increased emigration of the island population to Brazil . In 1857 the first whaling company was founded.

The Europe & Telegraph Co. Azores laid in 1893 the first submarine cable between Faial and Lisbon . The cable was manufactured by Telcon . This began a phase in which Faial became an important hub in telecommunications . In 1900, another submarine cable was Greetsiel and Borkum to Faial and from there to Coney Iceland in New York by the German Atlantic Telegraph Co. laid. The cable was manufactured by Felten & Guilleaume and Telcon. In the same year another cable was laid between Horta and Nova Scotia and from there on to New York. The cable was manufactured by Siemens Brothers Co. in London . It was operated by the American company Commercial Cable Company , which had the submarine cable extended to Waterville in Ireland in 1901 . In the same year, Telcon laid another cable between the Cape Verde island of São Vicente and Faial, operated by the Western Telegraph Company .

The North German submarine cable works laid a new submarine cable in 1903 between Greetsiel and Faial and in 1904 between New York and Faial. Operators of the two cables was the German Submarine Telegraph Co. Between São Vicente in Cape Verde and Faial the Telcon 1906 laid a new submarine cable, which by the Telegraph Co. Western was operated. In addition, the Telcon laid a submarine cable between Le Havre and Faial in 1923 , which was operated by the Commercial Cable Co. , and in 1924 both a submarine cable between New York and Faial, which was operated by Western Union Telegraph Co. , and one from Italcable operated submarine cable between Málaga and Faial.

The North Seekabelwerke laid in 1926 a cable between Borkum and Faial, which by the German Atlantic Telegraph Co. is operated. In 1928 the Telcon laid a cable between Newfoundland and Faial, which by the Co. Western Union Telegraph is operated. The submarine cables between Horta and Nova Scotia and between Horta and Waterville were decommissioned in 1962.

In 1976 the University of the Azores (Portuguese: Universidade dos Açores ) was founded in Ponta Delgada with two faculties in Ilha do Faial. On January 1, 1986, Portugal became a member of the European Union and Faial became a part of the EU . An earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale struck the island on July 9, 1998. It caused great damage, eight people died and about 500 houses collapsed. The epicenter was about 5 km off the coast.

Horta port railway

Between 1876 and 1901 there was a port railway in Horta with a gauge of 2134 mm. She owned four steam locomotives with the wheel arrangement B.

Web links

Commons : Faial  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ / Azores - Flower Islands in the Atlantic In: Christophe Neff, Geographische Rundschau, 2004 Queryed on February 16, 2019
  2. ↑ / A erupção dos Capelinhos eo vulcanismo nos Açores In: Jóse, Madeira, Boletim do Núcleo Cultural da Horta, 2007 (in port.) Queryed on February 16, 2019