The Fajã de João Dias is a permanent debris field, built from the collapsing cliffs on the northern coast of the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

Rosais Rosais (literally, archaic Portuguese for "rosaries") is a civil parish in the municipality of Velas in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The population in 2011 was 743, in an area of 24.23 km². History Although Rosais was first me ...

, in the municipality of Velas, island of São Jorge, in the Portuguese archipelago of the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

. Apart from a chapel, the settlement includes 17 older houses and over thirty remodelled or modern homes. Much of the settlement was destroyed following the 1980 earthquake, with only one home remaining habitable year-round. Meanwhile, the remainder of the buildings became weekend retreats and for those with plots of land used to cultivate figs, vines and corn: these residents living elsewhere on the island. Owing to these micro-climates fruits are also common along the fajãs or surrounding terraces. There are no commercial buildings. The settlement is inaccessible by vehicle or along the coast, but a paved road down the cliff was under construction in the east, by 2009. This trail is accessible by foot or pack animal, and snakes down the cliff. At the base is a rocky beach with a pair of private boats. Freshwater is supplied from springs along the cliff, while most houses have cisterns to collect water in the settlement.

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