Porto Santo Island

Porto Santo Island is a Portuguese island 50 km northeast of Madeira Island in the North Atlantic Ocean. The main urban area in which is one of the six Portuguese vilas/municipalities that have only one parish is the city of Porto Santo, also known as Vila Baleira, the only parish. The population in 2001 was 4,474. The density is 106.1/km². The island also has a small airport which serves flights including to Funchal which is only 15 min. It is the northernmost and the easternmost of the Madeira Islands. The municipality has no boundaries which means it is encircled by the Atlantic Ocean. The nearest place is Machico in the island of Madeira to the southwest in which it serves its port to Funchal. The length of the island is about 9 km. The main industry are tourism. The island was discovered by João Gonçalves Zarco in 1419 along with Tristão Vaz Teixeira.

Porto Santo has a school, a lyceum, a gymnasia, a church, and a square (praça).

Geography

The island's geography includes farmlands in the southern and central part and further south a long shoreline with a few beaches, forests and grasslands to the west, rocky ledges and cliffs with a longer coastline to its north, forests to the northeast, drylands with grasses to the northern part and mountains along the northeastern part with about five to six main mountaintops with a few grasslands. Much of the coastline is to the west, the north and the east. There are islets to the north east and a small peninsula with a mountaintop to the eastern part.

• Location for Vila Baleira:
  • Latitude: 33.0667 (33°4') N
  • Longitude: 16.33 (16°20') W
• Altitude:
  • Lowest: Atlantic Ocean
  • Centre: 175 m (577 m)

Settlements and geographic areas

External links

• Map and aerial photos (Porto Santo)
  • Street map from Mapquest or Google
  • Aerial photograph from Microsoft Terraserver
• Map and aerial photos (Vila Baleira)
  • Street map from Mapquest or Google
  • Aerial photograph from Microsoft Terraserver