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The nine major Azorean islands and Formigas extend for more than 600 km (372.8 mi) and lie in a northwest-southeast direction. The vast extent of the islands defines an immense exclusive economic zone of 1100000 km2 (424712.4 sqmi). The westernmost point of this area is 3380 km (2100.2 mi) from the North American continent. All of the islands have volcanic origins, although some, such as Santa Maria, have had no historical activity since the islands were settled. Mount Pico, on the island of Pico, is the highest point in Portugal, at 2351 m (7713.3 ft) in altitude. Generally, the Azores are actually the peaks of several of the tallest mountains on the planet, breaking the surface in the mid-Atlantic (as measured from their base at the bottom of the ocean). In 1877, Samuel Clemens, who found fame under his moniker Mark Twain, wrote of the Azores, as follows: :I think the Azores must be very little known in America. Out of our whole ship’s company there was not a solitary individual who knew anything whatever about them. Some of the party, well read concerning most other lands, had no other information about the Azores than that they were a group of nine or ten small islands far out in the Atlantic, something more than halfway between New York and Gibraltar. That was all. Because these once uninhabited, remote islands were settled sporadically over a span of two centuries, their culture, dialect, cuisine and traditions vary considerably from island to island. Farming and fishing are key industries that support the Azorean economy. |
