Pico Island

Pico
Island (Ilha)
The island of Pico, as seen from the north-central coast, showing the town of São Roque in the foreground and Mount Pico in the background
Official name: Ilha do Pico
Name origin: pico, Portuguese for peak
Nickname: Ilha Preta
Country	Portugal
Autonomous Region	Azores
Islands	Central Group
Location	Azores Platform, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Atlantic Ocean
Municipalities	Lajes do Pico, São Roque do Pico, Madalena
Civil Parishes	Bandeiras, Candelária, Calheta de Nesquim, Criação Velha, Lajes do Pico, Madalena, Piedade, Prainha, Ribeiras, Ribeirinha, Santa Luzia, Santo Amaro, Santo António, São Caetano, São João, São Mateus
Landmark	Mount Pico
Highest point	Mount Pico
- elevation	2,351 m (7,713 ft)
- coordinates	38°28′3.8″N 28°24′0″W / 38.467722°N 28.40000°W / 38.467722; -28.40000
Lowest point	Sea level
- location	Atlantic Ocean
- elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	46.23 km (29 mi), West-East
Width	15.87 km (10 mi), North-South
Area	447 km2 (173 sq mi)
Biomes	Temperate, Mediterranean
Geology	Alkali basalt, Tephra, Trachyte, Trachybasalt
Orogeny	Volcanism
Period	Holocene
Demonym	Picoense
Ethnic groups	Portuguese
Population	14,806 (2001)
Density	35.3 /km2 (91.4 /sq mi)
Largest city	Madalena (pop. 6,297)
Location of the island of Pico in the archipelago of the Azores

Pico Island (Ilha do Pico, Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈiʎɐ du ˈpiku]), is an island in the Central Group of the Portuguese Azores. The landscape features an eponymous volcano, Ponta do Pico, which is the highest mountain in Portugal, the Azores, and the highest elevation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In the tradition of the Portuguese poet, Raul Brandão, Pico is referred to as the Ilha Preta ("Black Island"), for its black volcanic earth, responsible for its UNESCO-designated historical vineyards that allowed the development of the island.

After depositing herds on the island in the first half of the 15th century, the first colonies were formed around 1460 by settlers from the north of Portugal (by way of Terceira and Graciosa). Its first Captain-Donatário was Álvaro de Ornelas, but he never took up his role on the island, as it was incorporated into Captaincy of Faial. Lajes was its first entitled village, closely followed by São Roque in 1542. Its settlers were initially occupied with wheat cultivation in addition to the exploration of the woad industry (based on lichens that were exported to Flanders to produce commercial dyes), and heavily influenced by export industries of its island neighbor, Faial.

Quickly, the viticulture industry, helped by the rich soils and micro-climates, had allowed to expand the lands cultivating grapes. Its development would occur uninterrupted along the margins of history except for volcanic eruptions during the 18th century; the viticulture and "orange cycle" would expand the activities on the island throughout the period. In 1723, Madalena was elevated to the status of "town", confirming its economic importance to the island, and its commercial links to Faial (Horta had been the residence of many of the island's property-owners and winemakers). Pico's famous verdelho, for more than two centuries, was appreciated in many countries (including England and in the Americas and even reached the palaces of the Russian czars). But, the spread of powdery mildew and phylloxera during the middle of the 19th century destroyed many of the vineyards, creating a crisis on the island that lasted until the 20th century.