PortugalAzores archipelagoIsland
São Miguel Island
745 km² rising to 1,103 m out of the Atlantic Ocean.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
745km²
Area
235km
Coastline
1,103m
Highest point
Pico da Vara
138,557
People
23°C
Warmest sea
August
1,376km
To the mainland
When to go to São Miguel Island
Best for the beach in August.
The sea is warmest in August (23 °C) and coolest in March (16 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from July to October.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores
São Miguel Island is an island in Portugal. It belongs to Azores archipelago. It covers 745 km², with 235 km of coastline. Its highest point, Pico da Vara, rises to 1,103 m. About 138,557 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,376 km away.
Getting there
- João Paulo II Airport (PDL)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at PDL airport (Ponta Delgada)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesVila Franca do Campo - Ilhéu da Vila
- 1,376 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- Augustbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on São Miguel Island.
- 40beachesPorto de santa iria, Calheta do Frade, Praia do Monte Verde and 37 more
- 228viewpointsVista do Rei Viewpoint, Viewpoint of Santa Iria, Castelo Branco and 225 more
- 9lighthousesFarol do Arnel, Farol da Ponta da Ferraria, Farol da Ribeirinha and 6 more
- 3ferry terminalsPonta Delgada
- 3marinasMarina de Ponta Delgada, Marina Vila Franca do Campo
- 30named peaksPico da Vara, Barrosa, Pico Bartolomeu and 27 more
- 31volcanoesCaldeira do Alferes, Pico Grande, Pico da Pintona and 28 more
- 62waterfallsCaldeira Velha, Salto do Cagarrão, Salto do Prego and 59 more
- 5castles and fortsCastelo, Palácio da Fonte Bela, Palácio José do Canto and 2 more
- 14ruins and archaeological sitesCasa do Mirante, Capela de Nossa Senhora das Vitórias, Ermida de Nossa Senhora Mãe de Deus and 11 more
- 3dive centresAZORES SUB dive center, Season Challenge diving center, Best Spot - Azores Dive Center
- 2surf spotsAzores Surf Center, Santa Bárbara Surft School
- 46waymarked walking routesPR04SMI Mata do Canário - Sete Cidades, PRC5SMI Serra Devassa, PR03SMI Vista do Rei - Sete Cidades and 43 more
- 7campsitesParque de Campismo da Feira, Quinta da Canada - Maia, Parque de Campismo Quinta das Laranjeiras and 4 more
- 289hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 522restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
São Miguel Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside São Miguel Island, each with its own numbers.
17beaches and covesCoastya
4lakesLakeyas
Largest lake
4.2km²
Sete Cidades Massif
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
23.7°C
Furnas Lake
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
23.2°C
Praia do Fogo
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
17 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Praia das Milicias23.1°C
- Praia do Fogo23.2°C
- Praia do Pópulo23.1°C
- Praia do Monte Verde23.1°C
- Praia do Areal de Santa Bárbara23.1°C
- Praia Vinha D'Areia23.2°C
- Praia dos Moinhos, Limpordina23.2°C
- Praia Botim das Vacas23.2°C
9 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
4 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Sete Cidades Massif4.2km²
- Furnas Lake1.8km²
- Lagoa do Fogo1.3km²
- Santiago Lake0.20km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 329 m above the sea. 32 % of it is below 200 m.
- 6 %0–50 m
- 26 %50–200 m
- 45 %200–500 m
- 23 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
50 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Ponta Delgada20,056 people
- Lagoa14,442 people
- Rosto de Cão7,880 people
- Rabo de Peixe7,681 people
- Arrifes6,981 people
- Vila Franca do Campo5,035 people
- Nordeste4,937 people
- São Roque4,932 people
- Fajã de Baixo4,915 people
- Ribeira Grande3,968 people
- Ponta Garça3,547 people
- Água de Pau3,058 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 19 | 17 |
| Night low (°C) | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 17 | 16 |
| Sea (°C) | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 19 | 18 |
| Rain (mm) | 67 | 68 | 65 | 56 | 43 | 30 | 18 | 27 | 56 | 74 | 66 | 105 |
| Wet days | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 16 |
| Sun h/day | 3.8 | 5.0 | 6.2 | 7.2 | 8.4 | 8.7 | 9.3 | 9.3 | 7.8 | 5.7 | 4.3 | 3.3 |
| Wind (km/h) | 27 | 26 | 28 | 25 | 22 | 20 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +1.2 | +0.7 | +0.2 | −0.2 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.5 | −0.1 | −0.5 |
| 2021 | −0.3 | −0.2 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +1.4 | +1.6 | +1.3 |
| 2022 | +1.3 | +1.1 | +1.0 | +0.6 | +0.7 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.2 | +0.1 |
| 2023 | −0.4 | −0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.5 | +1.0 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +1.1 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +1.1 |
| 2024 | +1.3 | +1.4 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +1.4 | +1.5 | +1.1 | +2.1 | +1.6 | +1.3 | +1.0 | +1.4 |
| 2025 | +1.5 | +1.1 | +0.5 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | +1.1 | +0.2 | +1.1 | +0.3 | +1.1 | +0.2 | −0.1 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q209036) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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