The island of fajãs — lava platforms at the base of vertical cliffs where people have farmed the Atlantic edge for five centuries
São Jorge is a long, narrow island (55km by 8km) in the central Azores, set on its side like a ridge running east-west from the ocean. The cliffs along both coasts are among the most dramatic in the Atlantic — rising 400–700m almost vertically from the sea — and at their base, volcanic lava flows have created flat platforms called fajãs, where small isolated communities have farmed and fished since the 16th century. There are 40 fajãs around the island's coastline, each accessible only by steep path or boat. The fajã dairy farms produce the milk for Queijo de São Jorge, the most famous Azorea…
São Jorge was settled from around 1460 by Flemish and Portuguese colonists under the direction of the Flemish merchant Willem van der Haegen (known in Portuguese as Guilherme da Silveira). The fajãs — formed by volcanic lava flows reaching the sea — were the only cultivable land on an island otherwise defined by vertical cliffs, and the isolation of each fajã created distinct micro-communities with their own identity and dialect variations. São Jorge experienced several destructive earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in the 17th century, including a 1580 eruption that created new fajãs while d…