São Jorge Island
| São Jorge | |
| Island (Ilha) | |
 The island of São Jorge seen from the north-northwest coast along the Ponta dos Rosais, Rosais
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| Official name: Ilha de São Jorge | |
| Name origin: Portuguese for Saint George | |
| Nickname: Ilha Vermelha | |
| Country | Portugal |
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| Autonomous Region | Azores |
| Islands | Central Group |
| Location | Azores Platform, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Atlantic Ocean |
| Municipalities | Velas, Calheta |
| Civil Parishes | Calheta, Manadas (Santa Bárbara), Norte Grande (Neves), Norte Pequeno, Ribeira Seca, Rosais, Santo Amaro, Santo Antão, Topo (Nossa Senhora do Rosário), Urzelina (São Mateus), Velas |
| Highest point | Pico da Esperança |
| - elevation | 1,052.71 m (3,454 ft) |
| - coordinates | 38°40′9″N 28°7′19″W / 38.66917°N 28.12194°W |
| Lowest point | Sea level |
| - location | Atlantic Ocean |
| - elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 54.07 km (34 mi), West-East |
| Width | 6.10 km (4 mi), North-South |
| Area | 243.65 km2 (94 sq mi) |
| Biomes | Temperate, Mediterranean |
| Geology | Alkali basalt, Tephra, Trachyte, Trachybasalt |
| Orogeny | Volcanism |
| Period | Holocene |
| Demonym | Sãojorgense; Jorgense |
| Ethnic groups | Portuguese |
 Location of the island of São Jorge in the archipelago of the Azores
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São Jorge (Portuguese pronunciation: [sɐ̃w ˈʒɔɾʒ(ɨ)]) is a Portuguese island in the central Azorean archipelago of Portugal. It is separated from its nearest neighbors (Pico and Faial islands) by a 15 km strait (consequently, the three islands are sometimes referred to colloquially as the "Triangulo" (Triangle) group or just "The Triangle"). São Jorge is a relatively long thin island with tall cliffs, and where the population (9500 inhabitants.) is concentrated on various deltas along the north and south coasts (its east to west length is 53 km and its north to south width is 8 km and its area is 237.59 km² 95 sq. miles).
It is unclear when the first explorers discovered the island of São Jorge; as part of the politics of human occupation, the Azores were populated after 1430 (probably 1439) through the initiative of Prince Henry the Navigator. The 23 April, known as the feast day of Saint George, has been cited by historians as the reason for the island's name, although this is likely conjecture. Genovese and Catalan maps of the 14th century originally designated the long, slender island "São Jorge", a designation that was maintained by Infante D. Henrique when settlers from northern Europe began to colonize the island (around 1460, or twenty years after it was first sighted).
Although unclear, Azorean chroniclers believe that settlement on the island concentrated around the two communities of Velas and Calheta, and developed into the interior. It was in 1460 that the construction of the first church dedicated to São Jorge occurred in the area of Velas, from the testaments of Infante D. Henrique. What is certain is that the island was populated by the time that João Vaz Corte Real, the Donatary-Captain of Angra do Heroísmo (Terceira) obtained the captaincy of the island, by contract on 4 May 1483. By 1500, the settlement of Velas was elevated from villa to municipality (giving rise to the supposition that Velas was the first center on the island). By 1659, the parochial church had already undergon public restoration, that gave origin the present church in that municipality.
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Wikipedia