P348 - Portugal - Typical windmill in Azores Islands

Typical windmill, Graciosa Island, Azores Islands, Portugal

The Azores is a Portuguese archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, about 1,500 km (930 mi) from Lisbon and about 3,900 km (2,400 mi) from the east coast of North America. The Monchique Islet on Flores Island, located at 31° 16' 24" W is regarded as the westernmost point in Europe, even though from a geographical standpoint, the two westernmost Azorean islands (Flores and Corvo) actually lie on the North American plate. The current Azores' main industries are tourism, cattle raising for milk and meat, and fishing.
The nine major Azorean islands and the eight small Formigas extend for more than 600 km (373 mi) and lie in a northwest-southeast direction. The vast extent of the islands defines an immense exclusive economic zone of 1,100,000 km2 (420,000 sq mi). The westernmost point of this area is 3,380 km (2,100 mi) from the North American continent. All of the islands have volcanic origins, although Santa Maria also has some reef contribution. The mountain of Pico on Pico Island, at 2,351 m (7,713 ft) in altitude, is the highest in all of Portugal. The Azores are actually the tops of some of the tallest mountains on the planet, as measured from their base at the bottom of the ocean. The archipelago forms the Autonomous Region of Azores, one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal.
Because these once uninhabited, remote islands were settled sporadically over a span of two centuries, their culture, dialect, cuisine and traditions vary considerably from island to island. Farming and fishing are key industries that support the Azorean economy. 240,000 Azoreans live within the archipelago’s 868 square miles.

亚速尔群岛（葡萄牙语：Açores）是一位于北大西洋中央的群岛，为葡萄牙领土。面积共2,247平方公里。群岛由九个主要岛屿组成，包括圣米格尔、圣玛丽亚、法亚尔、皮库、圣若热、特塞拉、格拉西奥萨、弗洛里斯和科尔武。首府为蓬塔德尔加达（位于圣米格尔岛上）。群岛西距欧洲大陆约1,600公里。一般认为亚速尔群岛在1427年由葡萄牙国王的领航员塞尼尔（D. de Senill）发现，当时岛上并无人类曾到此或居住的痕迹。约1432年开始建立居民点，到15世纪末，所有岛屿均有人居住，并与葡萄牙建立了良好的贸易关系。1580年至1640年间，亚速尔群岛曾隶属西班牙，1591年曾是英国与西班牙和葡萄牙两个半岛强国之间海战的战场。1766年葡萄牙任命一名管辖整个群岛的总督兼提督；1895年被给予有限的行政自治权。第二次世界大战时重要的空军和海军基地在此建立，1951年美国在拉日什设立北大西洋公约组织的空军基地。

皮库的产酒区于2004年被列入世界文化遗产。

References sources : Wikipedia