Terceira Island

Terceira
Island (Ilha)
A perspective from the expansive crater of Serra de Cume, the remnants of a geological volcanic eruption
Official name: Ilha de Terceira
Name origin: Portuguese for third; as in "the third island" or "third to be discovered"
Nickname: Ilha Lilás
Country	Portugal
Autonomous Region	Azores
Islands	Central Group
Location	Azores Platform, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Atlantic Ocean
Municipalities	Angra do Heroísmo, Praia da Vitória
Civil Parishes	Agualva, Altares, Biscoitos, Cabo da Praia, Cinco Ribeiras, Doze Ribeiras, Feteira, Fonte do Bastardo, Fontinhas, Lajes, Nossa Senhora da Conceição, Porto Judeu, Porto Martins, Posto Santo, Praia da Vitória, Quatro Ribeiras
Highest point	Serra de Santa Bárbara
- elevation	1,021.14 m (3,350 ft)
- coordinates	38°43′49″N 27°19′10″W / 38.73028°N 27.31944°W / 38.73028; -27.31944
Lowest point	Sea level
- location	Atlantic Ocean
- elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	30.11 km (19 mi), northwest–southeast
Width	19.5 km (12 mi), north–south
Area	400.6 km2 (155 sq mi)
Population	56,437 (2011) Census 2011
Biomes	Temperate, Mediterranean
Geology	Alkali basalt, Tephra, Trachyte, Trachybasalt
Orogeny	Volcanism
Period	Holocene
Demonym	Terceirense
Ethnic groups	Portuguese
Location of the island of Terceira in the archipelago of the Azores
Statistics: Instituto Nacional de Estatística
Geographic detail from CAOP (2010) produced by Instituto Geográfico Português (IGP)

Terceira (Portuguese pronunciation: [tɨɾˈsɐjɾɐ]) is an island in the Azores archipelago, in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the larger islands of the archipelago, with a population of 56,000 inhabitants in an area of approximately 396.75 square kilometres (153.19 square miles). It is the location of the Azores' oldest city, Angra do Heroísmo, the historical capital of the archipelago and UNESCO World Heritage Site; the seat of the judicial system (Supreme Court); and the main base of the Azores Air Zone Command (Portuguese: Comando da Zona Aérea dos Açores), Base Aérea nº 4, and a United States Air Force detachment.

A small number of hypogea (earthen structures carved into rocks, that were used for burials) were discovered on the island of Terceira, indicating a history of settlement that may date back 2000 years, and alluding to a presence on the island before the Portuguese.

Historically, there has been uncertainty in the date and the discoverer associated with the islands of the Azores. Nautical charts before the "official" discovery identified islands in the Atlantic Ocean as far back as 1325, when a chart by Angelino Dalorto identified "Bracile" west of Ireland, and later one by Angelino Dulcert which identifies the Canaries, and Madeira, along with mysterious islands denominated as "Capraria" (whom some historians suggest were São Miguel and Santa Maria). Legends also persisted of Atlantis, Sete Cidades (Kingdoms of the Seven Cities), the Terras of São Brandão, the Ilhas Aofortunadas (The Fortunate Islands), the Ilha da Brasil (the Island of Brasil), Antília, the Ilhas Azuis (Blue Islands), and the Terra dos Bacalhaus (Land of Codfish), and charts appeared between 1351 and 1439 of several groupings of islands with various names. The first association between the modern island of Terceira and these stories, was that of the island of Brasil; it first appears as Insula de Brasil in the Venetian map of Andrea Bianco (1436), attached to one of the larger islands of a group of islands in the Atlantic.