Text size:
Faial da Terra
Protected Area for the Management of Habitats or Species
Gallery
With 206 hectares, this area is located between Faial da Terra and Lombo Gordo beach, integrates a geosite of the Azores UNESCO Global Geopark and includes an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) classified by BirdLife International organization, in order of being a habitat of protected species, in particular, Calonectris borealis and Puffinus lherminieri baroli.
In this protected area, we highlight the Macaronesian coastal woodland, namely, Morella faya and Erica azorica. In rocky areas closer to the sea level, there are endemic species such as Azorina vidalii, Euphorbia azorica and Festuca petraea.
Geomorphologically, the coast of this protected area is mostly made up of several strand fajãs, adorned with blocks and pebbles. The first section of this protected area from the Faial da Terra until Água Retorta consists of lavas and pyroclastics of the Volcanic Complex of Nordeste. On the steep slopes of this coastline, the geological fissures that cross this area of the island are very evident, many of them filled with veins. The second section, which reaches the Lombo Gordo beach, is constituted by stacking basaltic lava flows (approximate age - four and three million years) characteristic of volcanism of the Volcanic Complex of Nordeste.
This area is particularly used in the summer season for recreational use and leisure, and there is even a large cluster of houses in Fajã do Calhau. Some of the areas are also used for agriculture.