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Costa Norte
Protected Area of Resources Management
Located north of the island, this area of 2458 hectares comprises the marine zones of Praia dos Lobos, Baía dos Anjos, Baía da Cré, Baía do Raposo and Baía do Tagarete (bays) until Ponta do Massapês, on the east end of the island’s north coast.
The Costa Norte bays are characterised by high sea cliffs of abrupt relief, which resulted from the marine erosion that shaped the coast of the island. These sea-cliffs are formed by subaerial basaltic lava flows interspersed with sedimentary rocks, like calcarenites and fossiliferous conglomerates, including also outcrops of submarine lava flows and dykes.
Baía do Raposo and Baía do Tagarete have unique waterfalls, standing out, on the latter, the deeply embedded valley and the meanders of Ribeira do Amaro.
The sea of this protected area is characterised by high biodiversity, with favourable conditions to serve as a nursery to numerous marine species. In the tidal pools of Baía do Tagarete, several species of algae are visible in a dense green and brown layer, such as the Laurencia viridis, the Saragassum vulgare, several species of the Cystoseira genus, the Fucus spiralis, among others. It is frequent to observe several species of starfish and sea cucumbers, White Seabream (Diplodus sargus) and Rockpool Blenny (Parablennius parvicornis).
It also includes a rocky elevation near the coast, called Ilhéu das Lagoinhas (islet), which rises to about 60 metres and has steep slopes. This area and the Costa Norte bays house cavities ideal for seabirds nesting, such as the Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii), the Common Tern (Sterna hirundo), the Cory’s Shearwater (Calonectris borealis) and the Barolo Shearwater (Puffinus lherminieri baroli). This islet and the adjacent coast are classified as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) of the BirdLife International organisation.
The Costa Norte (PR01SMA) and the Great Route of Santa Maria (GR01SMA) walking trails allow crossing this protected area, which includes geosites of the Azores UNESCO Global Geopark and class 2 and 3 fossil deposits of the Santa Maria Paleopark.
The Costa Norte (PR01SMA) and the Great Route of Santa Maria (GR01SMA) walking trails allow crossing this protected area, which includes geosites of the Azores UNESCO Global Geopark and class 2 and 3 fossil deposits of the Santa Maria Paleopark.