São Jorge is one of nine islands in the Azores archipelago, in the Central group, roughly 150 km from Terceira and close to Pico and Faial. About 54 km long and at most 6.9 km wide, the island forms a volcanic ridge running northwest to southeast.
Discovered in the 15th century (likely 1439), it was settled from the mid-1400s by Portuguese and Flemish colonists. Velas dates to 1507; Calheta became a town in 1534.
Geography
Pico da Esperança (1,053 m) is the highest point. The famous fajãs — coastal plains formed by landslides, lava and debris — are among the island's most distinctive features.
Population and municipalities
The island is divided into two municipalities — Velas (west) and Calheta (east), including Topo at the eastern tip. The story of settlement is told in Settlement and First Colonists.
Economy and culture
For centuries, farming, cattle and fishing sustained the population. São Jorge DOP cheese is the emblematic product. In the 19th and 20th centuries the island lived through the age of whalers and then the peak of tuna canning at Calheta and Fajã Grande — before emigration to Canada and the United States changed the rhythm of island life.
In culture, figures such as composer Francisco de Lacerda and educator Dr. Álvaro de Carvalho Velar connected São Jorge to the rest of Portugal and the Azores.