Faial / Ilha do Faial

Faial, the most westerly island in the central group of the Azores, gets its name from a beech- like shrub, myrica faya, which grows all over the island. Faial is separated from the neighboring island of Pico to the southeast by the 7km/4.25mi wide Canal de Sao Jorge.

The 16,000 inhabitants live by arable and livestock farming; Faial's centuries old whaling industry has ceased to be profitable.

In the early years of this Century the island was important as a station for several transatlantic cables but this has ceased with the advent of satellites. Faial has frequently been devastated by earthquakes, as in 1759/60, 1862, 1926, 1958 and most recently on New Year's Day 1980.

The Nuremberg cosmographer Martin