Sao Jorge Geography
An elongated island with a length of 35 miles (56 km) and a maximum width of only 5 miles (8 km), Sao Jorge has an area of 95 sq. miles (246.25 km2). Created by successive volcanic eruptions in a straight line, of which craters remain, its central platform has an average altitude of 2297 feet (700 m). The coast is steep and almost vertical, particularly in the north, although the cliffs are interrupted by small coastal flat areas: The Fajãs.
Sao Jorge was built on volcanic fissures associated with the plate tectonics of the mid-Atlantic Ridge and a transform fault that extends to the island of Sao Miguel (referred to as the Sao Jorge Fault). The island was built through successive fissure eruptions, and the only remnants of these forces are the line of volcanic cones that extend along the central ridge with a maximum height of approximately 700 meters.