Referred to as the “Ilha Lilás” (the “lilac” or “violet” island), Terceira (tɨɾˈsɐjɾɐ) is an island 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...

 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. It is the location of the historical capital of the archipelago, the Azores' oldest city and UNESCO Heritage Site (Angra do Heroísmo

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...

), the seat of the judicial system (Supreme Court), main base of the Azores Air Zone Command (Commando da Zona Aérea dos Açores) Base Aérea nº 4 and to a United States Air Force detachment.
A small number of Hypogea

Hypogeum

Hypogeum or hypogaeum literally means "underground", from Greek hypo and gaia . It usually refers to an underground, non-Christian temple or a tomb...

 (earthen structures carved into rocks, that were used for burials) were discovered on the island of Terceira, indicating a history of settlement that may date back 2000 years, and alluding to a presence on the island before the Portuguese.

Historically, there has been uncertainty in the date and the discoverer associated with the islands of the Azores.