Capelo

Capelo ( ) is a freguesia ("civil parish") in the municipality of Horta on the island of Faial in the Azorean archipelago. The population in 2011 was 486, in an area of 26.64 km 2 . Capelo may be considered the westernmost settlement of Eurasia, if Fajã Grande, on Flores Island, is considered part of North America, for it sits on the North American Plate.

Capelo ( ) is a freguesia ("civil parish") in the municipality of Horta on the island of Faial in the Azorean archipelago. The population in 2011 was 486, in an area of 26.64 km 2 . Capelo may be considered the westernmost settlement of Eurasia, if Fajã Grande, on Flores Island, is considered part of North America, for it sits on the North American Plate. ===Physical geography=== Mountainous volcanic craters cover the majority of the parish (being the location of the most recent volcanic eruption in the Azores). The parish has several facets: an area of volcanic craters that extends from the islands caldera, inland pasturelands used to support the agricultural/dairy industry, and a coastal zone of cottages and oceanfront pools. Linking these areas is the ubiquitous Regional Road E.R. 1-1ª that connects the communities on the island with Horta in the southeast corner. The parish is located on layers of volcanic materials referred to as the Capelo Volcanic Complex. It is a line of volcanic escoria cones of fissural nature lying on a west-northwest-east-southeast orientation consisting of basaltic volcanism of low explosivity. The peninsula shows varying volcanic shapes and products resulting from surtseyan, Hawaiian and strombolian phases of volcanism. It is area of young rock (less than 10.000 years), overlying the older pyroclasts of the Caldeira Formation, and includes two historical eruptions (the 1672 Cabeço do Fogo and 1957 Capelinhos eruptions). This fractural zone is defined by the Capelo Fault, a fracture system of cones and craters displaying right lateral echelon geometry, which extends to Capelinhos volcano in the western tip of Faial. In this particular area, Capelo Fault is expressed by tens of sub-vertical fractures, concentrated in a 250 meter wide zone, cutting through the pyroclastic sequence of a surtseyan cone exposed in a paleo-sea cliff east of Capelinhos volcano. An example of these fractures can be found on the surface of the Capelinhos volcano; a warm vent on its eastern flank belies the active nature of this volcanism. ===Climate=== Capelo has a humid subtropical climate at low altitudes and a wetter oceanic climate at higher altitudes. ===Human geography=== In addition to the village of Capelo, at the intersection of the E.R.1-1ª and E.R.3-2ª, the parish includes the localities of Areeiro, Biscoitos, Canto, Cimo da Ribeira, Cruzeiro, Norte Pequeno, Ribeira do Cabo, Rua do Canto, Rua da Igreja and Varadouro. ==Economy== The economy in this region is primarily agriculture-related, with dairy-oriented activities dominating. Meanwhile, owing to the numerous natural monuments in the region (the aforementioned Capelinhos volcano and protected areas), the region regularly sees eco-tourist activities throughout the year, with rural tourism, pedestrian trails and other leisure activities occurring in the areas of Capelo and Varadouro. The parish's southern coast is considered the "spa region" of the island, dominated by a large bay and the black rock cliffs of Varadouro and the Mouro volcanic plug. Discovered in 1889, the warm waters at Varadouro were considered, at the time, one of the best medicinal treatments in the country for rheumatism and skin diseases; its hypersaline waters whose temperatures average , attracted "beachgoers" who travelled to the ocean-carved pools for refreshment during the Gilded Age, while partaking of the thermal waters at the spa. Since this period, the use of the thermal waters has been intermittent, during phases of proactive local governments; around the late 20th century the buildings were already in ruins. Plans to economically rejuvenate the area were concentrated on reconstructing the buildings, as a way to attract new visitors. But, in November 2007, these small plans were suspended in order to redevelop the site into a Hotel-Spa facility. These plans stagnated until 2009 when, along with INOVA, the regional government proposed a new project to revitalize the thermal-spa potentiality of the Azores (called TERMAZ), which projected the reconstruction of the existing Varadouro spa buildings: a project that was stalled by 2011. Amid opposition declarations requesting a timeline for their reconstruction, by 2011, the Regional Government indicated their intention to expropriate lands necessary to "re-qualify and reactivate" the Thermae of Varadouro (and suggesting that only 10% had not been acquired until this point). ==Architecture== ===Civic=== Geological Museum of the Volcano ( ); Handicrafts School of Capelo ( ); House of the Washerwomen ( ), recuperated in 2012, located in Fonte das Areias, this public washbasin was used by local women until the end of the 19th century, and was associated with the Dabney family (who had a summer cottage here 1806 and 1892); This washbasin was the first location to provide potable water to the parish of Capelo. Part of the Protected Landscape of the Central Zone ( ), the structure is included within the Trail of the 10 Volcanoes ( ), which was also improved during the requalification of the areas; Lighthouse of Ponta dos Capelinhos ( ) and Interpretative Centre of the Capelinhos Volcano ( ), the 19th century lighthouse that took half a century to construct, but was destroyed in less than a year during the Capelinhos volcanic eruption (1957–58); Lighthouse of Vale Formoso ( ), a 20th-century modernist lighthouse recognizable for its simplistic lines, comparable to the lighthouse in the Formigas; Thermal Spa of Varadouro ( ) ===Festivities=== In addition to the festivals associated with the Holy Spirit (which occur several weeks following Easter), the parish is the center of the Festas do Varadouro. This religious celebration is associated with the testamente of Father Cardoso who requested his heirs celebrate a mass in his Chapel of Varadouro in the name of Nossa Senhora do Carmo (Our Lady of Carmo). The celebration occurs on the first Sunday in October. ===Tourism=== Tourism in this parish is associated primarily with the main sites: Capelinhos and Varadouro. The re-qualification of the primary roadways within the past few years has been a process of improving and developing rural, eco- and geo-tourism. Similarly, with the emphasis on improving tourism in the Varadouro region, the natural rock pools have been improved and thermal spa in planning for remodeling. ===Notes=== ===Sources===

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1375328715 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.