The place

The islands sit near the meeting point of the North American, Eurasian and African plates, on and beside the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and they are still volcanically alive. You see crater lakes, black lava coasts, hot springs and steaming fumaroles, as at Furnas on São Miguel. Pico, a young stratovolcano, is the highest mountain in Portugal at 2,351 m. The climate is mild and wet, with frequent cloud, strong winds and rapid changes of weather. Hydrangea hedges divide green pastures into small fields, and the sea around the islands drops quickly into deep water, where sperm whales feed and dolphins come close to the coast.

History

The islands were uninhabited when Portuguese navigators reached them in the early 15th century, and settlement began in the 1430s, with Portuguese and Flemish families among the first colonists. The islands became a waypoint for Atlantic shipping, and Angra on Terceira grew into a major port. Settlers cleared forest for wheat, woad and later oranges, dairy and pasture. On Pico, farmers built a vast grid of basalt walls to shelter vines from wind and salt. Open-boat whaling, learned from American whalers, was central to island life until it ended in the 1980s. Many Azoreans emigrated to Brazil, the United States and Canada. The Azores became an autonomous region in 1976.

Why it matters for the living world

Far from any continent, the Azores host endemic plants and animals that evolved in isolation, including the Azores bullfinch, or priolo, which survives in the native laurel forest of eastern São Miguel. Only small fragments of the original laurisilva and juniper woodland remain, mostly on high, wet ground, where they help capture cloud water and feed springs. Seabirds such as Cory's shearwater nest in large numbers on cliffs and islets. The surrounding ocean, with seamounts and hydrothermal vents, is a feeding and migration route for whales, turtles, tuna and sharks, and is now covered by a network of marine protected areas of about 287,000 km², 30 percent of Azorean waters, half of it closed to all fishing.

People of the place

About a quarter of a million people live on the islands, with the largest towns on São Miguel and Terceira. Azoreans have a distinct island culture shaped by isolation, earthquakes and eruptions, the sea and strong Catholic festivals such as the Holy Spirit celebrations. Dairy farming and beef dominate the economy, alongside fishing, tea on São Miguel, wine on Pico and a growing tourism sector, including whale watching run by former whaling families. The large diaspora in North America keeps close ties. Local scientists, the regional government and fishing communities have worked together on marine protection and on restoring native forest.

What it faces

Invasive plants are the biggest pressure on native habitats: Australian cheesewood (Pittosporum undulatum), kahili ginger and other species overrun remaining forest and push out endemic plants. Intensive dairy pasture has replaced most native vegetation, and fertiliser runoff has caused algal blooms in crater lakes such as Furnas and Sete Cidades. Tourism has grown fast since budget flights arrived, adding pressure on trails, water and housing. Climate change brings stronger storms, ocean warming and sea-level rise. Deep-sea mining interest in the surrounding seabed worries scientists. The marine protected area law, approved in 2024 and in force since 2026, survived a push to reopen fully protected zones to tuna fishing. Projects for the priolo and catchment protection around the lakes also aim to reverse these trends.

Sources

Written for Regenerative Voices from the sources above. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.