Lagoa do Fogo

After visiting the tea plantation, we drove across the island towards Ponta Delgada. We took the winding road and passed Lagoa do Fogo.

The island is only 8 km wide at this point and the road goes to 950 meters. Accordingly, there is a lot of wind there and the temperatures are quite cool.

Lagoa do Fogo (Lake of Fire) is a crater lake within the Água de Pau Massif stratovolcano in the center of the island of São Miguel. The highest lake located on the island of São Miguel, the region is protected by governmental regulation that does not permit any constructions around the lake.

Since 1974, the Lagoa do Fogo had been under the administration of national legislation as a protected area, forming the Reserva da Lagoa do Fogo an area that includes approximately 2,182 hectares.

Lagoa do Fogo is one of the largest of the waterbodies in the Azores, and occupies the central caldera of the Água de Pau Massif. The caldera is the youngest volcano on the island, formed approximately 15 000 years ago, resulting from the collapse at the top of the volcano, some 5000 years ago. The last eruption occurred in 1563.

It is part of the hydrological watershed of the same name. The margins of the lake are located 575 metres above sea level, although the crater rim, which extends to Pico da Barrosa is located at approximately 949 metres altitude. The internal flanks of the crater (characterized by abrupt 48º cliffs) are occupied by the elliptical lake, 3 by 2.5 kilometres and 30 metres deep.

The carved relief affects the course of hydrographic run-off, which is accentuated by torrential precipitation in the region, resulting in accentuated erosion and deposition along the margins. A majority of the watercourses are temporary or torrential, with the greatest run-off occurring in the winter, and little in the summer, with few permanent ravines. There are only two permanent effluents in the lake, one to the western crater rim in Barrosa, and the other in the south-southeast. The lake is maintained from mainly, direct precipitation over the caldera and from superficial run-off from the watersheds, where nutrient infiltration is common. The lake's waters support local aquifers in the lowlands and provide potable water to the settlements in the southern flanks of the caldera.Læs mere