CORVO ISLAND
39° 40' 19" N; 31° 06' 42" W
The island of Corvo is the smallest of the islands in the Azores Archipelago, located in the Western Group, on the North American Plate, north of Flores Island.
The island corresponds territorially to the municipality of Corvo with headquarters in Vila do Corvo, the only municipality in the Portuguese Republic that does not have any parish. The functions of parish bodies are assumed by the corresponding municipal bodies.
Geography
The island occupies a total area of 17.13 km², with 6.5 km long and 4 km wide. It is located at 39º 40' North latitude and 31° 05' West longitude. If it is considered part of insular North America, due to the fact that it is located on the North American Plate, it would have one of the easternmost points of the American continent.
It is 13 miles from the island of Flores, 13 miles from Santa Cruz das Flores and 10 nautical miles from Ponta Delgada (Santa Cruz das Flores). It is formed by a single extinct volcanic mountain – Monte Gordo, crowned with a large depression crater locally called Caldeirão, with a perimeter of 3.7 km and a depth of 300 meters and where the Lagoa do Caldeirão is located. In it you can see several lakes, peat bogs and small "islets", two long and five round. The highest point on the island is Estreitinho on the southern edge of Caldeirão, 720 meters above mean sea level. In addition to this elevation, the following stand out: Morro dos Homens, Lomba Redonda, Coroa do Pico, Morro da Fonte, Espigãozinho and Serrão Alto.
The entire coastline is high and steep, forming the central cone of the volcano, with the exception of the southern part, where Vila do Corvo, the only village on the island, was established in a lava fajã. The western escarpment, with an almost vertical cliff about 700 m high over the ocean, is one of the highest coastal elevations in the Atlantic.
The land immediately around the only village on the island and a small sheltered area on the east coast (the Quintas and Fojo) are the only ones where it is possible to practice agriculture and keep some fruit trees. The best pastures for cattle are further north, in the so-called Terras Altas.
In the south cove, called Enseada de Nossa Senhora do Rosário, there are three landing docks – Porto Novo (not used), Porto do Boqueirão and Porto da Casa, the largest and the only one used for commercial traffic. Portinho da Areia, at the western end of the airport runway, is the only beach on the island and its main bathing area.
Climate
The climate is humid, with 915.7 mm of average annual precipitation, but mild, although windy, with an average annual temperature of 17.6 °C in the village, with average monthly temperatures that vary between 14 °C in February and 20 °C C in August. In the high zones the fogs are almost permanent. Maritime agitation, particularly in the western quadrant, is very high, resulting in high coastal erosion.
Relative air humidity fluctuates between 74% in October and 85% in June, the month when fog is most frequent ("São João fog").
Pedestrian paths of Corvo
Pedestrian trail comprising Caldeirão, Ponta do Marco and Cancela Nova (PR2COR).
This pedestrian trail runs through two special nature protection zones. An area classified as a Special Conservation Area (ZEC), under the terms of the Habitats Directive, given the richness of the flora laden with endemic Macaronesian plants that constitute a unique inhabitant on the island.
This pedestrian path, one of the most extensive of the several created by the Municipality of Corvo, runs along Serrão Alto and Espigãozinho, has a length of 5.30 kilometers and starts next to the Miradouro do Caldeirão and ends in the place called Cancela do Pico.
It is characterized by having a high degree of difficulty for pedestrians, mainly due to the uneven characteristics of the paths and shortcuts covered, but also because part of the route is close to high cliffs, some of which are around 700 meters high, and also because of the presence occasional and sudden occurrence of fogs that arise due to altitude.
This route is only advised by the municipality in the presence of a field guide, which is why it is not signposted.
The trail extends along the high summit of Caldeirão, with on one side the brilliant Lagoa do Caldeirão shimmering at the bottom of a crater that runs 300 meters deep and on the other the sea at the bottom of a cliff that reaches in some points the 700 meters and which constitutes the highest cliff of its kind in the entire Northeast Atlantic.
The route follows several geological formations of great interest for speleology and petrography, allowing us to read the geological phases of the formation of the island. It should be noted the presence of several volcanic cones.
Pedestrians, upon reaching the steepest part of the Caldeirão, are obliged to go down the trail that heads north and down the north slope of the mountain, opening up an immense landscape whose breadth extends over a horizon of sea and ends at the place called Ponta do Marco. and on a small beach, to the left, embedded in the cliff.
At this point, the route follows along the cliff, along a very bumpy path, and pedestrians are advised not to go too far to the edge of the cliff. Here, you can quench your thirst at a source of drinking water located halfway up the slope.
Further on, the landscape changes and the walker takes a dirt path flanked by abundant hydrangea hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) which, compared to the previous landscape, offer comfort to the walker. This path takes hikers to Cancela do Pico, where the trail ends.
Pedestrian path consisting of the route called Cara do Índio (PR1COR).
This route, which rises to an altitude of around 400 metres, is duly signposted and has a level of difficulty considered medium, stretching across the space between Morro da Fonte, Urzea and Pão de Açúcar, along the two special nature protection zones. One zone classified as an Area of Special Interest (ZIE) and another classified as a Site of Community Interest (SIC) given the richness of flora laden with endemic Macaronesian plants that constitute a unique inhabitant on the island.
This pedestrian path has a length of 3.5 kilometers and starts near the place called Cova Vermelha, ending in Vila do Corvo. This path crosses old rural paths, lanes surrounded by stone walls and heads towards the coast until you reach the high cliff that borders the land from the sea.
When the hiker finds this point, he must turn right on the trail and approach the border between land and sea, thus allowing him to see a sculptural work made by nature that over centuries of constant struggle between the elements, the earth , the sea and the wind carved into the hard basalt what the inhabitants believe to be the face of an Indian.
From this point you should turn back part of the way, always following, however close to the cliff in order to get a sense of the immense cliff and find an old path that you should follow back to Vila do Corvo.
Along this part of the route, you will find old shelters used by farmers to shelter their cattle and sometimes themselves from the inclement weather of an altitude climate. There are also curious geological formations whose origin is lost in the formation of the island itself and which, due to the thousands of years of existence, have been softened by erosion.
It is also worth mentioning the existence of typical animal drinkers, specific to this island.
When crossing this route, hikers will find a curious endemic vegetation typical of Macaronesia where large clusters of bryophytes, large mossy formations and clusters of wild cedar (Juniperus brevifolia) proliferate.
