The Fajã dos Cubres is a permanent debris field, known as a
fajã
() is a Portuguese term of obscure origin used to describe supratidal talus at the foot of coastal cliffs, caused by landslides or lava flows.G. Lameiras et al. (2009), p.827 Although relatively common world-wide, they are distinctive features ...
, 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 authorit ...
of
Ribeira Seca, in the municipality of
Calheta, island of
São Jorge, in the
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
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 ...
.
History
The
spit received its name from the seaside goldenrod (''
Solidago azorica''), a small yellow flowering plant, that is common to the fajã.
[
The size of the fajã has been attributed to the 9 July 1757 earthquake, considered the most violent tectonic quake that occurred in the Azores.][Amigos dos Açores (2013), p.16][ The event, and associated aftershocks, were responsible for the destruction in Fajã dos Vimes, Fajã do São João and Fajã dos Cúberes, where ''"it moved the land, from the centre above, with luck, in them, there is no sign of buildings."''][Amigos dos Açores (2013), p.17] The earthquake produced major damage in Calheta and caused the death of 1034 on the island of São Jorge.[Nunes et al. (2003), p.266-268]
The Hermitage of Nossa Senhora das Lurdes was open to the faithful on 18 October 1908.[ It was offered to the public by António Faustino Nunes, a native of this fajã and later emigrant to California.][ To the rear of the church is a tidal well, who some believed its waters were considered miraculous.][
During the 1980 earthquake several buildings were damaged.
]
Geography
The fajã is an irregular form, with four small islets, and is heavily influenced by tidal waters, due to the diffusion of salt water into the lagoon.[ In comparison with the lagoon of the Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo, there is no canal to the sea, which affects the dynamic of this ecosystem.][ Morton (1998) identified two areas: one along the west, where the tidal waters rise between (and which the salinity is elevated between 10-26%) and the eastern section, where salinity levels are between 0-6%.][ This milder salinity even allows the survival of a small population of frog ('' Rana esculenta'').][
Of the plants that exist at Fajã dos Cubres the predominant species include, the sharp-pointed rush ('']Juncus acutus
''Juncus acutus'', the spiny rush, sharp rush or sharp-pointed rush, is a flowering plant in the monocot family Juncaceae found throughout the Americas, Northern and Southern Africa, Western and Southern Europe and West Asia.
It grows in salt m ...
''), along the lagoon, Queen Anne's lace ('' Daucus carota'') and the Azorean spurge
''Euphorbia'' is a very large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family Euphorbiaceae. "Euphorbia" is sometimes used in ordinary English to collectively refer to all members of Euphorbiaceae (in deference to t ...
('' Euphorbia azorica'').[ The presence of estuary grasses ('']Ruppia maritima
''Ruppia maritima'' is an aquatic plant species commonly known as beaked tasselweed, ditch grass, tassel pondweed and widgeon grass. Despite its scientific name, it is not a marine plant; is perhaps best described as a salt-tolerant freshwa ...
'') within the lagoon is of great importance, since they were exceptional within the Azores (and only at this site).[ The fajã has a variety of typical marine flora and fauna, and its lagoon has become a natural refuge for diverse marine and migratory birds.][ Nesting birds include the ]Cory's shearwater
Cory's shearwater (''Calonectris borealis'') is a large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It breeds colonially of rocky islands in the eastern Atlantic. Outside the breeding season it ranges widely in the Atlantic. It was formerl ...
(''Calonectris diomedea borealis''), common snipe
The common snipe (''Gallinago gallinago'') is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World.
The breeding habitats are marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout the Palearctic. In the north, the distribution limit extends from Iceland ov ...
(''Gallinago gallinago''), yellow-legged gull
The yellow-legged gull (''Larus michahellis'') is a large gull found in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, which has only recently achieved wide recognition as a distinct species. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of either the Cas ...
(''Larus cachinnans atlantis'') and the common tern
The common tern (''Sterna hirundo'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migrator ...
(''Sterna hirundo'').[ In addition, annually, farmers bring cattle down to the fajã to graze. Although prohibited now, at one time fishing occurred in the lagoon, mostly mullet and ]anchovies
An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water.
More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...
, using netting techniques.
The fajã, which is part of Ribeira Seca, is west of the larger, Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo.[ It is accessible by a winding road that descends the northern cliffs from the village of ]Norte Pequeno
Norte Pequeno is a ''freguesia'' ("civil parish") in the municipality of Calheta in the Portuguese Azores, located on the northern coast of the island of São Jorge. The population in 2011 was 220, in an area of 12.11 km2. It contains the l ...
. Until 1993 this was a dirt roadway, and crossed many small bridges, where water drained from the plateau, but it was eventually asphalted by regional authorities.
The settlement constitutes a unique countryside, with a mix of buildings with modern and older amenities. A primary school has at some times operated, based on the number of available students, with most children bused to the larger secondary schools on the plateau.[
]
See also
* List of fajãs in the Azores
References
;Notes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Faja dos Cubres
São Jorge Island
Calheta, Azores
Ramsar sites in Portugal
Cubres