A pyroclastic flow is a fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter that moves away from a volcano about 100 km/h (62 mph) on average but is capable of reaching speeds up to 700 km/h (430 mph). The gases can reach temperatures of about 1,000 °C (1,830 °F).
Pico Island, is an island in the Central Group of the Portuguese Azores. The landscape features an eponymous volcano, Ponta do Pico, which is the highest mountain in Portugal, the Azores, and the highest elevation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In the tradition of the Portuguese poet, Raul Brandão, Pico is referred to as the Ilha Preta, for its black volcanic earth, responsible for its UNESCO-designated historical vineyards that allowed the development of the island.
São Miguel Island, nicknamed "The Green Island", is the largest and most populous island in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The island covers 760 km2 (290 sq mi) and has around 140,000 inhabitants, with 45,000 people residing in Ponta Delgada, the archipelago's largest city.
Terceira is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago, in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the larger islands of the archipelago, with a population of 56,000 inhabitants in an area of approximately 396.75 square kilometres. It is the location of the Azores' oldest city, Angra do Heroísmo, the historical capital of the archipelago and UNESCO World Heritage Site; the seat of the judicial system ; and the main base of the Azores Air Zone Command, Base Aérea nº 4, and a United States Air Force detachment.
The Formigas (Ants) Islets, sometimes referred to as the Formigas Bank, are a group of rock outcroppings in the eastern group of the Azores archipelago, an autonomous region of Portugal. The bank is located 43 kilometres (27 mi) northeast of Santa Maria Island and southeast of São Miguel Island covering a surface area of approximately 9,000 square metres (97,000 sq ft). In the same area is the submerged Dollabarat Reef. The bank is disturbed only by a lighthouse located on the largest mound.
Faial Island, also known in English as Fayal, is a Portuguese island of the Central Group of the Azores. The Capelinhos Volcano, the westernmost point of the island, might as well be the westernmost point of Europe, if the Monchique Islet, near Flores Island, is considered part of North America, for it sits on the North American Plate.
The Capelinhos is a monogenetic volcano located on the western coast of Faial Island in the Azores. It is part of the larger volcanic complex of Capelo, which includes 20 scoria cones and lava fields that are aligned west-northwest to east-southeast from the Cabeço Gordo caldera. Although the name "Capelinhos" is associated with the volcano, it technically refers to the western cape of the parish of Capelo. It can be considered the westernmost point of Europe; there are more westerly islands in the Azores archipelago but they lie on the North American Plate.
Dom João de Castro Bank is a large submarine volcano located in the central north Atlantic Ocean, between the islands of São Miguel and Terceira in the archipelago of the Azores.
The Dollabarat Reef is a shoal situated 5 km south-southeast of the Formigas Islets, on the Formigas Bank in the Azores archipelago.
A somma volcano is a volcanic caldera that has been partially filled by a new central cone. The name comes from Mount Somma, a stratovolcano in southern Italy with a summit caldera in which the upper cone of Mount Vesuvius has grown.
Mount Pico is a stratovolcano located on Pico Island, in the mid-Atlantic archipelago of the Azores. It is the highest mountain of Portugal, at 2,351 metres (7,713 ft) above sea level, and is one of the highest Atlantic mountains; it is more than twice the elevation of any other peak in the Azores.
Monte Brasil is the remnants of a tuff volcano connecting the south coast of Terceira in the central Azores, overlooking the city of Angra do Heroísmo. Monte Brasil is flanked by two bays: the Bay of Angra to its east, and the Bay of Fanal to its west, and was used as a defensive point during the history of Angra, resulting in the construction of various forts and redoubts, including the Fortress of São João Baptista overlooking the city.
The Princess Alice Bank is a submerged seamount that is located 50 nmi (93 km) to the southwest of the island of Pico and 45 nmi (83 km) to the southwest of the island of Faial in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The western area of the bank has a minimum depth of 35 metres (115 ft), with clear waters that allow the observation of the ocean floor from the surface. With an abundance of biodiversity, the Bank is a fishing area, in addition to being an important diving spot of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Fogo Seamounts, also called the Fogo Seamount chain, are a group of seamounts located about 500 km (311 mi) offshore of Newfoundland and southwest of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. They consist of basaltic submarine volcanoes that formed during the Early Cretaceous period.
The hydrothermal vents and seamounts of the Azores are a series of Atlantic seamounts and hydrothermal vents that are part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge system, giving rise to the archipelago and bathymetric region of the Azores. These geological structures, formed from masses of basalt, are of a geomorphological interest due to their rich deposits of ore. In addition it fosters a rich ecosystem of diverse subaquatic plant and animal life. There are food chains within this environment, for example, that are purely chemosynthetic, and do not need sunlight for photosynthesis.
Mitromorpha crenipicta is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Mitromorphidae.
The Gruta das Cinco Ribeiras is a cave situated in the southwest coast of Terceira, located in the civil parish of Cinco Ribeiras, municipality of Angra do Heroísmo, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores.
