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Atlas/europe-atlantic/Deep field file

Signal verified · updated 2026-09-03

São Miguel

The Azores' Green Island: twin crater lakes at Sete Cidades, Furnas hot springs, Europe's only tea plantations and Ponta Delgada.

37.779° N25.495° W
site access marine
Joao Paulo II Airport (PDL), Ponta Delgada
Sete Cidades viewpoint (Vista do Rei)
Furnas caldera, Terra Nostra Park and fumaroles
Lagoa do Fogo
Formation
volcanic; three active trachytic stratovolcano massifs (Sete Cidades, Fogo/Agua de Pau, Furnas) joined by fissure zones
Population
133,295
Water
Atlantic Ocean
Access
easy
01

Every required movement

The passage
to São Miguel.

Fly to Joao Paulo II Airport (PDL), Ponta Delgada; inter-island SATA flights and seasonal Atlanticoline ferries.

  1. 01
    Joao Paulo II Airport (PDL), Ponta Delgada

    Nearest recorded air access

    Schedule or condition may change · verify
  2. 02
    Water crossing

    Atlanticoline seasonal ferries link Ponta Delgada with Santa Maria and (via the central group) the other islands; SATA Air Acores inter-island flights year-round.

    Schedule or condition may change · verify
  3. 03
    Entry check

    Schengen rules (Portugal).

    Schedule or condition may change · verify

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What the chart cannot hold

What becomes visible when you follow sete cidades crater lakes beyond the familiar map?

Largest island of the Azores and home to over half the archipelago's people. Its three caldera systems hold vivid crater lakes, geothermal fields and tea plantations - the only commercial tea grown in Europe. Ponta Delgada is the economic and administrative hub of the Azores.

Uninhabited at Portuguese landfall (~1431); settled from the 1440s under Goncalo Velho Cabral; sugar, oranges then pineapples and dairy; autonomous region since 1976.

02

Field ledger

The useful
details.

Coordinates
37.78° N · 25.50° W
Sovereignty
Portugal · part of country
Nearest mainland
Portugal mainland (~1,370 km east); Santa Maria island 80 km south
Best recorded window
June-September warmest and driest; hydrangeas bloom in July.
Permits / entry
Schengen rules (Portugal).
Languages
Portuguese
03

Community intelligence

Notes from
the crossing.

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The empty ledger is part of the mystery—and an invitation to be useful.

Travel information changes quickly. This field file was last revised 2026-09-03. Confirm all transport and permit details before booking.

Official source