Azores Geography School Trip

Sete Cidades (which translates literally to Seven Cities) is a small town on the western end of San Miguel Island in the Azores. This is the location for one of the Azores most famous sights, the twin caldera lakes which sit in the crater of a dormant volcano. The sides of the crater are covered with luxuriant forests and both the green (Lagoa Verde) and blue (Lagoa Azul) lagoons are best seen from the iconic Vista do Rei lookout (the Kings Viewpoint) which is probably the most famous view in the archipelago.

The town and valley of Furnas is at the centre of San Miguel's geothermal activity. The historically active volcanic complex comprises mineral-rich hot springs, steaming geysers, bubbling pools, fumaroles and more. It is also one of the places that you can see the traditional local method of cooking, known as Cozido. Deep holes are dug into the volcanic earth and cooking pots are lowered in. Over the space of a few hours the volcanic heat slowly cooks the food inside the pots before they are hoisted out, ready to be eaten.

Located on San Miguel island, Gorreana is the oldest and today the only tea plantation remaining in Europe. The mix of rich volcanic soil and the temperate climate of the island are in fact ideal conditions to grow and produce tea. The factory was built in 1883 when the company itself was founded and it has continued since then to produce tea using mainly traditional methods and authentic machinery which was built in Britain in the early twentieth century. The tour includes the plantations and the inside the factory where you see the various machine separating and crushing the leaves before being sorted. There is also the chance to sample some tea at the end of the tour in the factory’s gift shop.

Mosteiros is wild and windy coastal region situated in the north-west corner of Sao Miguel island. There is a black sand beach and rocky promontories stretching out to sea which are evidence of ancient lava flows. Off-shore you can see several sea stacks - the islets of Mosteiros. These are a set of four large rocks, the remnants of a once-imposing submarine volcano which marine erosion has reduced to the remnant rocks. Along the shore the high cliffs have alternating strata. It is believed the land on which the town of Mosteiros is now built emerged from the eruption of the Sete Cidades volcano which historical records date to May 1445, shortly after Columbus visited on his return from the Americas.

The Gruta do Carvao is the largest lava tunnel on the island of Sao Miguel.  The cave is located just outside of Ponta Delgada and extends underground for over 1600 metres.  Lava tubes are formed when a hard crust forms over active lava flows but the molten lava inside continues to flow. Once it has fully drained, it leaves a hollow tube behind.  At Gruta do Carvao, countless stalactites can be seen on the ceiling of the cave.  Some of these are formed from the solidification of lava whilst others are caused from the infiltration and sedimentation of water.  There are also features known as gas bubbles where accumulated gases have bubbled and burst open. The tour takes approximately 40 minutes and protective gloves and helmets with attached torch are provided to all participants.

The botanical gardens at Terra Nostra are located in the Furnas Valley and comprise a diverse collection of endemic Azorean plants and trees, as well as more exotic species which have been imported over the past 150 years since the garden’s inception,  The main attraction here is the large circular thermal pool that is located in front of the main house.  Its orange-brown thermal water is due to iron oxide and other minerals and not because it is muddy.  The thermal spring that supplies the water is at a temperature of between 35-40 degrees. The water in the main pool is chest deep and is the perfect temperature, while adjacent to the changing rooms there are a series of ‘hot pots’ where the temperature is a little higher.

Caldeira Velha is an area of hot springs located on the northern slopes of the Fogo Volcano in the central part of San Miguel island. Set amongst beautiful cloud forest, there are bubbling hot springs, steaming fumaroles and hot pools in which to bathe. There is also an Interpretation Centre – a visitor centre - which displays information about this unique biosphere. Caldeira Velha can be easily accessed in about a 5 minute walk from the road along a level path.

The island of Sao Miguel has a number of impressive waterfalls and the Salto do Cabrito is one of the more interesting to explore.  A short hike follows the course of a metal pipe which feeds water to a small HEP installation. The pipe descends through a narrow chasm and our route descends a metal staircase until we emerge at the foot of the waterfall itself.  This is a fun walk and at the end of it you can have some time for fieldwork.