Azores

Portuguese �in full Arquip�lago Dos A�ores, � archipelago composed of nine major islands, in the North Atlantic Ocean; they lie roughly 1,000 miles (1,600 km) west of Portugal and are a part of that nation. The islands, which have a total land area of 868 square miles (2,247 square km), are divided into three widely separated groups: the eastern group, consisting of S�o Miguel, Santa Maria, and the Formigas islets; the central, of Faial, Pico,