GASPAR, J.L., QUEIROZ, G., FERREIRA, T. (2002) - The beauty and threat of the Azorean volcanoes. Insula, International Journal of Island Affairs, Year 11, Nº 1, 13-16.

​The Azores archipelago is located in the North Atlantic Ocean and consists of nine inhabited islands. Despite some uncertainties about the exact date of discovery, it is known that the Azores were first settled by the Portuguese in the second quarter of the 15^th century. At present, about two hundred and fifty thousand people live in the Azores, being S. Miguel Island the home of half of them. Agriculture was always the main economic livelihood of the Azoreans.