Amateur Geologist Time! Lagoas of Sao Miguel

We do so much every day and I fall into bed exhausted more othen than or not, so instead of atempting to do this blog  diary style, I think I'm going to stick with themed entries. Since we visited the Geosciences department of the University of the Azores today, I'm going to indulge in a little amateur geology and share some of the lagoas of São Miguel island with you.

First, a little background info. The island of São Miguel was formed by six volcanic complexes. Some of them left behind lagoas, or crater lakes. Each has it's unique characteristics.

Lagoa do Fogo: The Living Lake

(Ignore the bit about the tea plantation; more on that in another post!)

On Saturday, we visited Lagoa do Fogo, in. Of all the lagoas, it's the closest to remaining in it's pristine condition. This is probably due to the fact that it's the highest in elevation and most remote of all the lagoas. The other lagoas have settlements nearby that have impacted the lake's chemistry and biodiversity.

Lagoa das Furnas: Lunch Time!

On Sunday we visited our second lagoa: Furnas. You'll see that the color isn't nearly as brilliant as Lagoa do Fogo:

The reason Furnas is so green is that fertilizer runoff from the pastures nearby got into the lake. Unfortunately, fertilizer works just as well on algae. It grew at an exponential rate, choking out any other life in the lagoa. Light no longer penetrates the lake, so photosynthesis isn't happening either.

Furnas is pronounced similarly to the English word furnace, but it actually means pits or caves. However, both apply to the lake. Furnas is still full of geologic activity: geysers and hot springs. The people who settled here learned to harness that power. 

Cozido das Furnas is what happens when you decided to use that geologic power as a crockpot. Throw meat and veggies into a pot, bury it for a few hours, and it's lunch time! There are also natural hot and cold mineral springs in the Furnas valley. Several springs are near one another, but they all tasted different.

Lagoa das Sete Cidades: A Lagoa Out of Legend

Sete Cidades is named after the myth of the Seven Cities of Atlantis. Unfortunately, the day was overcast, but you should still be able to see that the twin lagoas are two different colors: blue and green. According to legend, a blue eyed princess of the Seven Cities fell in love with a green eyed shepherd. Naturally, their love was doomed to end in failure. Her father sent her away to be married, and the two lovers wept so much over their parting that they left behind two lakes that matched the color of their eyes.

Fun fact: The Sete Cidades crater is so big that Corvo, the smallest Azorean island, could fit inside it.