Ilhéu de Vila Franca

Just off the south coast of São Miguel in the Azores, a ring of dark volcanic rock rises from the Atlantic and encloses an almost perfectly round lagoon of calm, clear water. The Ilhéu de Vila Franca is what remains of a Surtseyan volcano, a cone formed when rising magma met seawater and exploded into ash, later hardened into palagonitic tuff and basalt. The sea has broken through the northern side of the rim, facing São Miguel, so the crater now works as a natural harbour sheltered from the open ocean.

The islet is small, about five to six hectares, and its highest point reaches roughly 62 metres above the sea. The circular crater basin measures about 150 metres across and is up to about 20 metres deep. The rock walls are cut by vertical fractures that give the islet its ribbed, sculpted look, and off its southern tip stands a separate volcanic stack, the Farilhão, about 32 metres high. For centuries the islet was private: until 1982 a single family owned it, keeping vineyards on the higher ground and making wine for local use, and the terraces of those abandoned vines can still be traced on the slopes.

In 1983 the islet and the waters around it were declared a nature reserve, and in 2004 the protected marine area was widened to 350 metres around the coast. BirdLife International lists it as an Important Bird Area. The lagoon's sheer walls also made it a stage for high diving: the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series held nine events here between 2010 and 2019. The islet faces the town of Vila Franca do Campo, founded in the fifteenth century and the first capital of São Miguel until an earthquake and landslide in 1522 destroyed much of it and the seat moved to Ponta Delgada.

Getting there

The islet lies about a kilometre off Vila Franca do Campo, from where boats cross to it. The nearest city is Ponta Delgada, about 20 km to the west by the regional coastal road. The nearest airport is João Paulo II Airport (PDL) at Ponta Delgada, about 23 km away.