São Miguel
- ISS004-E-10894
- 30 April 2002
- 16:05 UTC
Located in the eastern group of islands, São Miguel is by far the largest island of the Azores group — with an area of 760 km² it measures 65 km in length with a maximum width of 16 km. The highest point of Pico da Vara (1,103m) is located at the far eastern end of the island.
The island is generally mountainous, with it elevated areas being located in three main groups: The Sete Cidades in the west, Planalta Graminhaes in the east and the Serra de Agua de Pau in the centre. These volcanic centres consist of low mountain massifs topped by large caldera formations. The cladera of Sete Cidades is the largest to found in the Azores, with a diameter of 8 km. In the geothermally active Serra de Agua de Pau lies the Lagoa do Fogo — the highest lake in the Azores situated at 600 m above sea level.
image: earth sciences and image analysis laboratory, nasa johnson space center
