Azores
"Let us simply hope that the children born today will still have, twenty years from now, some green grass for their bare feet, some fresh air for their lungs, some blue water to sail on, and a whale’s tail on the horizon to fill their dreams."
Jean-Jacques Cousteau
Terceira
São Miguel
São Jorge
Santa Maria
Pico
Graciosa
Flores
Faial
Corvo
The Azores are located in the North Atlantic Ocean, within a range defined by parallels 36° 55′ 43″N and 39° 43′ 02″N, and meridians 24° 46′ 15″W and 31° 16′ 02″W.
The archipelago’s oceanic position results in significant geographical isolation (insularity), as it lies approximately 760 mi (1,430 km) from mainland Europe and over 2,110 mi (3,900 km) from North America. The maximum distance between the islands exceeds 340 mi (630 km), separating Corvo from Santa Maria.
With a population of around 240,000 inhabitants, the archipelago consists of nine islands grouped into three distinct clusters: the Eastern Group, comprising São Miguel and Santa Maria; the Central Group, including Faial, Pico, São Jorge, Terceira, and Graciosa; and finally, the Western Group, made up of Flores and Corvo.
