Santa Maria (Azores)

Santa Maria
The Baía de São Lourenço on Santa Maria
Waters	Atlantic Ocean
Archipelago	Azores
Geographical location	36 ° 58 ′  N , 25 ° 6 ′  W Coordinates: 36 ° 58 ′  N , 25 ° 6 ′  W
length	16.6 km
width	7.8 km
surface	97.18 km²
Highest elevation	Pico Alto 587  m
Residents	5653 (2016) 58 inhabitants / km²
main place	Vila do Porto

Santa Maria (German: Heilige Maria ) is the geologically oldest island in the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean . Santa Maria is known for its handicrafts and pottery and has distilleries and fish processing . There is a direct flight connection to Lisbon .

administration

Santa Maria is the southernmost and third smallest island in the Azores. It has an area of ​​97 km² and a little over 5500 inhabitants. The main town of the island is Vila do Porto , which is also the seat of a district.

The district of Vila do Porto includes the entire island, as well as very small secondary islands such as Ilhéu da Vila do Porto , Ilhéu de São Lourenço and Ilhéu das Lagoínhas . The uninhabited Formigas 36 km to the northeast are also administratively part of it; they are managed by the Port Authority in Vila do Porto .

Five municipalities form the district:

location	Freguesias (municipalities)	Residents	Area km²	Population density inh. Per km²
	Almagreira	599	11.22	52
	Santa Bárbara	405	15.27	26th
	Santo Espírito	588	26.68	23
	Sao Pedro	841	18.17	46
	Vila do Porto	3119	25.55	122
	Santa Maria	5547	96.89	57

geography

The island can be divided into two different regions:

• in the west, on the leeward side of the northeast trade winds , a flat, very dry and sunshine-rich region with the capital Vila do Porto (founded in 1432) and the meanwhile civil airport Santa Maria (until the end of the Second World War an American air force base ).
• The other region is hilly (up to 587 m above sea level, Pico Alto ). The clouds that rain down on the mountains make for a rich vegetation in this area, which also allows a little agriculture .

geology

Santa Maria is of volcanic origin, but unlike the other islands in the Azores, it is not a volcanic island , but consists of sedimentary rock in which fossils can even be found. Due to this structure, Santa Maria was spared from severe earthquakes that caused great damage to the other islands of the Azores. The highest point, the 587 m high Pico Alto, rises in the northeast of the island and belongs to the mountainous eastern part of the island. In the west there is a 100 m high plain. Santa Maria is constantly rising and therefore growing. Usually, volcanic islands sink over time when they are cut off from the magma flow.

history

The island was named on the Assumption of Mary in 1439 by the navigator Gonçalo Velho Cabral in honor of Mary of Christians. Diogo de Silves had previously discovered the island in 1427. The settlement began in 1439 by settlers from the Portuguese mainland provinces. Until 1944, the island was a small island far from any other country.

In 1941, American specialists discovered the desert plains in the west of the island as the location for a military base . In 1944, the USA began to develop it into a huge transatlantic airport. It covers much of the western plain of the island. The airfield was completed within a few months, but was no longer required for military purposes due to the end of the war . On June 2, 1947, Portugal took over operations and used the site for civil aviation. The 3000 meter long runway was ideally suited for the intermediate landings of transatlantic pilots, who at that time could not fly non-stop. When Atlantic flights without refueling became possible in the 1960s and 1970s , the airfield lost its importance.

Economy and transportation

Besides fishing and agriculture , tourism is the most important industry on the island.

There is a well-developed road network on the island that connects all parts of the island. The only protected harbor is located below Vila do Porto.

Today the main airport of the Azores is on São Miguel . In the main holiday season, the airport of Santa Maria has scheduled flights from Lisbon and Ponta Delgada several times a week .

An ESTRACK observation and radio station of the European space agency ESA is located at a height of around 200 m on Monte das Flores .

Web links

Commons : Santa Maria  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• The portal of the Azores
• Homepage of the Serviço Regional de Estatística dos Açores (SREA) (engl./port.)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Decreto-lei nº 265/72 de 31 de julho (PDF; 6.7 MB), accessed on February 11, 2017
2. ↑ ^{a b} Ramalho et al .: Emergence and evolution of Santa Maria Island (Azores) - The conundrum of uplifted islands revisited. In: Geological Society of America Bulletin , 2016, doi: 10.1130 / B31538.1
3. ↑ Santa Maria Airport. Information on arrivals and departures. ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, accessed August 27, 2017 . 
4. ↑ ESTRACK - New ground station inaugurated