Serra de Santa Bárbara

Serra de Santa Bárbara is the peak of an dormant volcano in the western part of the island of Terceira, Azores, Portugal. At 1,021 m (3,350 ft) elevation, it is the highest point of the island.^[1] It is named after the village located on the coast to the south, Santa Bárbara in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo.^[2]

Serra de Santa Bárbara
Serra de Santa Bárbara from the south
Highest point
Elevation	1,021 m (3,350 ft)
Prominence	1,000 m (3,300 ft)
Coordinates	38°44′31″N 27°19′09″W
Geography
Serra de Santa Bárbara Terceira Island, Azores
Geology
Mountain type	Caldera
Volcanic belt	Mid-Atlantic Ridge

The peak lies on the south rim of the Santa Barbara Caldera which is approximately one kilometer wide, having two smaller peaks in the center of the caldera.^[3] The upper slopes and the floor of the caldera are covered by holly and juniper forests,^[4] almost all of which are protected in the Nature Reserve of Serra de Santa Barbara e dos Mistérios Negros.^[5]

In 1761 a portion of the volcano erupted, and according to local religious lore, the villagers took a holy relic up to the erupting lava, and the lava stopped.^[6]

Serra de Santa Bárbara, Terceira 2020. The peak includes a double caldera, which formed from summit collapses 25,000 and 15,000 years ago. Also visible are small lava domes that formed on the eastern flank in 1761 during the last volcanic eruption to occur on land on Terceira. The flanks of the volcano are covered by agricultural fields and pastures. The Azores are famous for the production of wine and tea, as well as cattle, which were brought by settlers in the 15th century. ^[7]

Notes and references

1. "Map 22 Biscoitos (Terceira, Açores)" (Map). Arquipélago dos Açores - Central. 1:25,000 (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Instituto Geográfico do Exército. 2002. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
2. "Map 24 Angra do Heroísmo (Terceira)" (Map). Arquipélago dos Açores - Central. 1:25,000 (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Instituto Geográfico do Exército. 2002.
3. Terceira Island, AMS M789 (GSGS 4123) (Map) (fourth ed.). 1:50,000. United States Army Map Service. 1948.
4. Elias, Rui Bento (2013). "Floresta natural dos Açores" (PDF). Pingo de Lava (in Portuguese). 1 (especial 50 anos): 35–37, page 36.
5. "Nature Reserve of Serra de Santa Barbara e dos Mistérios Negros". Government of the Azores.
6. Quando no sítio conhecido por "Entre o Pico e a Serra" rebentou um vulcão cujos fumos densos desceram da cumeada da Serra de Santa Bárbara, a coroa do Império do Outeiro foi levada ao local e as lavas não avançaram mais para além do sítio onde depois foi construído o Império. Noé, Paula (2012). Os Impérios do Espírito Santo na Ilha Terceira (PDF) (in Portuguese). Sacavém, Portugal: Instituto da Habitação e Reabilitação Urbana. p. 6.
7. Terceira Island, Azores at NASA Earth Observatory, June 22, 2022