{"id":24555,"date":"2020-12-24T18:44:56","date_gmt":"2020-12-24T23:44:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/?p=24555"},"modified":"2020-12-30T17:53:13","modified_gmt":"2020-12-30T22:53:13","slug":"furnas-scenery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/furnas-scenery\/","title":{"rendered":"Furnas Scenery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

S\u00e3o Miguel, The Azores (A\u00e7ores), Portugal (March 2001)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Furnas
Furnas Valley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Furnas is a Portuguese word that is similar to its English cognate “Furnace.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this case it applies to a town and a region in a broad interior valley on the eastern side of S\u00e3o Miguel. Furnas rests in a caldera basin surrounded by mountains on all sides (map<\/a>). Also, it is certainly one of the larger, if not the largest, of S\u00e3o Miguel’s interior towns. As we drove up onto the central mountain ridge the town of Furnas came into view nestled far below. It is a popular spa and resort destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Lake in the Crater<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Lagoa
Lagoa das Furnas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lagoa das Furnas sits within the same caldera (map<\/a>). Deep basins sometimes form when volcanoes collapse. Then they can become natural cisterns for collecting rainfall and groundwater. There is nowhere for the water to flow except into the basin. Water can only evaporate or percolate into the surrounding water table. Thus at Furnas, the end result is a scenic lake surrounded by jagged peeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Parque Terra Nostra<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Parque
Hickling House at Parque Terra Nostra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the 19th Century, Thomas Hickling, a prosperous American merchant from Boston built this mansion within the Furnas caldera. Additionally he laid out an arboretum and private walking gardens. Today this forms the basis of a park called Parque Terra Nostra. The odd pea-soup greenish water in the foreground is a large swimming pool heated naturally by local geothermal activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Articles in the Azores Series<\/h2>\n\n\n\n