SANTA MARIA History and Geographi

Santa Maria was the first island of the archipelago of the Azores to be discovered. It was discovered by Diogo Silves in 1427, during the return from Madeira.
This island has a population of 6 500 inhabitants. It consists of a single county whose headquarters is located in Vila do Porto. Besides Vila do Porto there are four other parishes: Almagreira, Santa Bárbara, Santo Espírito e São Pedro.


"Santa Maria is located at 37° 43'N land 28º 08'W. This island lays about 1450 km from continental Europe - Cabo da Roca -, about 2600 km from the North American east coast – Terra Nova. It has a slightly elliptical configuration, in an area of 97.18 km2 which represents only 4.2% of the total area of the Azores. Santa Maria has a maximum length of 17km and width of 9.5km.”

 

Book "Um olhar geográfico sobre Santa Maria"