Arco da Calheta

Arco da Calheta
Civil Parish (Freguesia)
A paraglider over the locality of Achada de Santo Antão, the parish of Arco da Calheta
Coat of arms
Official name: Freguesia de Arco da Calheta
Name origin: arco da calheta Portuguese compound phrase for arch of the small bay
Country	Portugal
Region	Madeira
Island	Madeira
Municipality	Calheta
Center	Arco da Calheta
- elevation	890 m (2,920 ft)
- coordinates	32°44′4″N 17°8′4″W
Highest point	Paul da Serra
- elevation	1,412 m (4,633 ft)
- coordinates	32°45′4″N 17°6′57″W
Lowest point	Sea levl
- location	Atlantic Ocean, Arco da Calheta, Calheta
- elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	6.80 km (4 mi), Southwest-Northwest
Width	2.93 km (2 mi), Northwest-Southeast
Area	14.70 km2 (6 sq mi)
Population	3,241 (2001)
Density	220.47 / km2 (571 / sq mi)
Settlement	fl. 1500
- Parish	c. 1572
LAU	Freguesia/Junta Freguesia
- location	Sítio da Fonte Bugia, Arco da Calheta, Calheta
President Junta	José Manuel Rodrigues Paulo (PPD-PSD)
Timezone	WET (UTC0)
- summer (DST)	WEST (UTC+1)
ISO 3166-2 code	PT-
Postal Zone	9370-024 Arco da Calheta
Area Code & Prefix	(+351) 291 XXX XXX
Demonym	Madeirense
Parish Address	Sítio da Fonte Bugia 9370-024 Arco da Calheta
Location of the parish seat of Arco da Calheta in the municipality of Calheta, island of Madeira
Wikimedia Commons: Arco da Calheta
Statistics from INE (2001); geographic detail from Instituto Geográfico Português (2010)

Arco da Calheta is a civil parish in the municipality of Calheta in the Portuguese islands of Madeira. The population in 2001 was 3,241, in an area that extendes 14.7 km² into the interior of Paúl da Serra (a density of approximately 220 inhabitants per square kilometre). Arco da Calheta is one of the larger parishes in Calheta in both population and area, along with the Vila of Calheta.

Geography

The suburban residential homes near the main square in Arco da Calheta, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean

The parish of Arco da Calheta is surrounded to the north and west by the parish of Calheta, and east by the municipality of Ponta do Sol (specifically the parishes of Canhas and Madalena do Mar, fronting the Atlantic Ocean along its southern border. Buildings are found in the amphitheatre-shaped valley, as well as on the escarpments overlooking the community, alongside Calheta (in Calhau Grande) and Madalena do Mar (Achada de Santo Antão). Its landscape within this semi-circular valley was the basis for its name; the early settlers, owing to the band/arch of settlements with the valley, bapitzed the region the "Arch of Calheta", or Arco da Calheta. A band of laurisilva forests subdivides the parishes built-up area from the barren vegetation of the mountains.

The regional roadway connects the Calheta with Ponta do Sol in Arco da Calheta, while small roadways scatter around the interior of the parish, while one single road stretches into the interior, reaching is zenith in Paul da Serra (1300 metres above sea level).

Arco da Calheta has a school, a lyceum, a gymnasium, a church and a square (Portuguese: praça).

Economy

Although agriculture is the primary industry in the region, commercial enterprises permeat throughout the coastal area of the parish.