Jump to content

Corvo Island

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Terrymarsh (talk | contribs) at 10:40, 26 September 2007 (Geography). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Corvo Island
Map
This article is about the Island, for the municipality see Corvo, Azores

Corvo Island (Portuguese, Ilha do Corvo, pron. IPA: ['iʎɐ du 'koɾvu]; lit. Crow Island) is the smallest of and the northernmost of the Azores Islands and the northernmost in Macaronesia, being just 17.45 km² (6.75 sq mi) in area and having only 426 inhabitants (2001) living in a single municipality, of the same name, the smallest in Portugal and of the Azores.

Geography

The highest point in Corvo, to the south of the volcanic crater, is Morro dos Homens, at 718m (2,356ft). The entire island was formed by the collapse of a volcano, forming a caldeira. Known on the island as ‘Caldeirão’, the crater is 300m (984ft) deep and has a diameter of 2km (1¼ miles), and is often shrouded in mist.

The geography includes hills with forests to the east and rocky ledges to the west and north. The town itself is located in the southwestern part of the island.

History

The island was discovered in 1452 by Diogo de Teive.

Location of the island-municipality of Corvo within the Azores.

References

  • Global Volcanism Program: Corvo
  • Gardner, N. (2006). "Corvo". hidden europe magazine. 9: 30–31.