Altares
Encyclopedia
Altares is a parish in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo
on the island of Terceira
in the Azores
. The population in 2001 was 884, its population density was 33.9/km², and the land area is 26.04 km².
The parish is located in the northwestern part of the island, about 19 kilometres from the city of Angra do Heroísmo. It is bounded on the east by the parish of Biscoitos
, which belongs to the municipality of Praia da Vitória
, on the west by the parish of Raminho
, on the north by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south and southwest by the caldera of the Santa Bárbara volcano and by the parish also called Santa Bárbara
.
Altares is located on a hillside, and it encompasses a good deal of the north slope of the Serra de Santa Bárbara massif, from the northern and western edges of the caldera of Santa Barbara to the seaside cliffs on the north coast of the island. Topographically, the parish is bounded on the east by the course of the Ribeira do Pamplona (River Pamplona), which also serves as a limit to the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo, and on the west by a line drawn from the 827-metre summit of Pico Rachado ("cracked summit") to the sea. First, this line follows the course of the Ribeira dos Gatos (River of Cats), but then it diverts to the west to include the hamlet of Cerro da Ribeira dos Gatos, a ridge of hills, and miscellaneous buildings.
The territory of the parish rises gradually from the coast, first as a relatively gentle slope, but at an increasingly rugged grade as one approaches the heights of the Serra de Santa Bárbara, where five streams have their sources: the Gatos, the São Roque, the Lajinhas, the Lapa, and the Pamplona.
Angra do Heroísmo
Angra do Heroísmo , locally referred to as Angra, is a municipality and city on the island of Terceira, within the Portuguese autonomous region of the Azores. The municipal area has a population of 35,581 and an area of . Along with Praia da Vitória to the north, it is one of two municipal...
on the island of Terceira
Terceira Island
Referred to as the “Ilha Lilás” , Terceira 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 km²...
in the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
. The population in 2001 was 884, its population density was 33.9/km², and the land area is 26.04 km².
History
It is one of the oldest parishes of the island, having been founded sometime before the year 1480. The word, "Altares", is a contraction of the words, Altos Ares, meaning "mountain breezes".Geography
Biscoitos
Biscoitos is a civil parish in the municipality of Praia da Vitória, on the island of Terceira in the Portuguese Azores. In 2001, the population of Biscoitos was just under 1500 inhabitants, occupying an area of 27.05 km² .The village has a wine museum called the Museu do Vinho dos Biscoitos that...
, which belongs to the municipality of Praia da Vitória
Praia da Vitória
Praia da Vitória is a municipality in Portugal's Autonomous Region of the Azores. The second largest administrative division on the island of Terceira, Praia da Vitória occupies the northern coast of the island and extends halfway into the interior having at its frontiers Pico Alto and the shield...
, on the west by the parish of Raminho
Raminho
Raminho is a parish in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo on the island of Terceira in the Azores. The population in 2001 was 550, its population density was 49.68/km², and the land area is 11.07 km²....
, on the north by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south and southwest by the caldera of the Santa Bárbara volcano and by the parish also called Santa Bárbara
Santa Bárbara (Angra do Heroísmo)
Santa Bárbara is a parish in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo on the island of Terceira in the Azores. The population in 2001 was 1366, its population density was 83.29/km², and the land area is ....
.
Altares is located on a hillside, and it encompasses a good deal of the north slope of the Serra de Santa Bárbara massif, from the northern and western edges of the caldera of Santa Barbara to the seaside cliffs on the north coast of the island. Topographically, the parish is bounded on the east by the course of the Ribeira do Pamplona (River Pamplona), which also serves as a limit to the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo, and on the west by a line drawn from the 827-metre summit of Pico Rachado ("cracked summit") to the sea. First, this line follows the course of the Ribeira dos Gatos (River of Cats), but then it diverts to the west to include the hamlet of Cerro da Ribeira dos Gatos, a ridge of hills, and miscellaneous buildings.
The territory of the parish rises gradually from the coast, first as a relatively gentle slope, but at an increasingly rugged grade as one approaches the heights of the Serra de Santa Bárbara, where five streams have their sources: the Gatos, the São Roque, the Lajinhas, the Lapa, and the Pamplona.