The District of Horta was a district of the Ilhas Adjacentes (Adjacent Islands of 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...

), consisting of the dependent western islands of the archipelago, located in the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

. The district of Horta, not to be confused with the modern municipality of Horta

Horta (Azores)

Horta is a single municipality and city in the western part of the Archipealgo of the Azores, encompassing the island of Faial. Horta has a population of about approximately 15,038 people and an area of 173.1 square kilometers. The population density is about 88 persons per square kilometer...

, existed until 1976 when it was abolished in the favour of the autonomy charter of the 1975 Portuguese Constitution.

History

Officially referred to as the Distrito Autónomo da Horta (Autonomous District of Horta) since 31 December 1940, it was originally established after the Liberal administrative reforms of Mouzinhos da Silveira on 28 March 1836. During these reforms the Azores were redesignated dependancies of Portugal as the constitutionally-designated Ilhas Adjacentes (Adjacent Islands). The district's creation resulted from the division of the Província Ocidental dos Açores (Western Province of the Azores), its seat in the district capital of Angra do Heroísmo, into two areas with the latter's seat in Horta.

District autonomy was established during the Estado Novo

Estado Novo

There have been two regimes known as Estado Novo :*Estado Novo , the period from 1937 to 1945, under the leadership of Getúlio Vargas...

 regime of António de Oliveira Salazar

António de Oliveira Salazar

António de Oliveira Salazar, GColIH, GCTE, GCSE served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1932 to 1968. He also served as acting President of the Republic briefly in 1951. He founded and led the Estado Novo , the authoritarian, right-wing government that presided over and controlled Portugal...

 in 1940.

The Autonomous District of Horta was extinguished, along with the Districts of Ponta Delgada

Ponta Delgada (district)

The District of Ponta Delgada was a district of the Ilhas Adjacentes , consisting of the dependent eastern islands of the archipelago, located in the Atlantic Ocean...

 and Angra do Heroísmo on 22 August 1975, with the establishment of the Junta Regional dos Açores (Regional Junta of the Azores), the provisional government that assumed the competencies of the administration during the region's transition to constitutional autonomy. With regional autonomy the districts were completely abolished: the 1976 Portuguese constitution defined in law the status of Autonomous Region

Political status of the Autonomous Region of the Azores

The political status of the Autonomous Region of the Azores is the standard paralegal constitutional framework for the autonomy of the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores...

 without the existence of districts. Local government authority and administration fell to the upper-level Local Administrative Units

Lau

Lau may refer to:An indigenous people that live on the Solomon Islands.People with the German/Austrian surname:* Charlie Lau, catcher and hitting coach in Major League Baseball* Laurence Lau , actor...

 (the municipalities) and second-tier LAU

Lau

Lau may refer to:An indigenous people that live on the Solomon Islands.People with the German/Austrian surname:* Charlie Lau, catcher and hitting coach in Major League Baseball* Laurence Lau , actor...

 IIs (the civil parishes).

Geography

The district of Horta included the western islands of the Azores, from the Central Group of islands (with the exception of Graciosa

Graciosa

Graciosa Island is referred to as the White Island, the northernmost of the Central Group of islands in the Azores. The ovular Portuguese island has an area of 60.65 km², a length of 10 km and a width of 7 km...

, São Jorge and Terceira) to Flores and Corvo

Corvo Island

Corvo Island , literally the Island of the Crow, is the smallest and the northernmost island of the Azores archipelago and the northernmost in Macaronesia, with a population of approximately 468 inhabitants constituting the smallest single municipality in Azores and in Portugal.-History:A small...

. This region includes a terrestrial territory of 776.17 km² of islands and islets, and the following municipalities:

• Corvo
  Corvo Island
  Corvo Island , literally the Island of the Crow, is the smallest and the northernmost island of the Azores archipelago and the northernmost in Macaronesia, with a population of approximately 468 inhabitants constituting the smallest single municipality in Azores and in Portugal.-History:A small...
  
  
• Horta
• Lajes das Flores
  Lajes das Flores
  Lajes das Flores is municipality in the western part of the Azores; it includes the southern portion of the island of Flores and is encircled almost entirely by the Atlantic Ocean except for the north, where it is bordered by Santa Cruz das Flores. It has a population of 1,491 inhabitants and a...
  
  
• Lajes do Pico
  Lajes do Pico
  Lajes do Pico is a municipality in the southern part of the Azores.The municipality is located is on the southern part of the Pico Island. The northern area of the municipality is mountainous while the Atlantic Ocean is in the south. The only road linking to the northern part of the island runs...
  
  
• Madalena
• São Roque do Pico