Faial Island is located at the western end of the Central Group of the Azores Archipelago, separated from Pico Island by a narrow arm of sea 8.3 km (or 4.5 nautical miles) wide. It is located 11 miles from São Jorge and 66 nautical miles from Terceira. The island is roughly shaped like an irregular pentagon, with a length of 21 km in an east-west direction and a maximum width of 14 km, corresponding to an area of 172.43 km², making it the fifth largest island in the archipelago. The resident population is around 15,691, most of whom live in Horta, the city where the Azorean Parliament is located and the seat of the island's only municipality. Topographically, the island is dominated by Caldeira, a huge volcanic crater with a diameter of around 2 km and a depth of 400 meters, with gentle slopes intersected by secondary volcanic formations, and by its highest peak, Cabeço Gordo, a dormant volcano since 1672, with an altitude of 1043 meters. In any case, Faial's greatest attraction is certainly its versatility of landscapes, while one side of the island features the charming city of Horta which, with its famous marina and rich architectural heritage, is probably the liveliest and most cosmopolitan city in the triangle, at the other end of the island there is an arid, uninhabited and recently formed region called Capelinhos. With regard to the history of Faial, it can be said that in a way it reflects the history of the entire archipelago and clearly shows that all historical events were initiated from the outside. The discovery of the island is closely linked to that of the island of São Jorge in 1450 and large-scale settlement began in 1466 when the Flemish Josse van Hurtere - who gave rise to the name of the city of Horta - arrived on the island, along with around a thousand other men, in search of silver and tin mines. When the search for these precious metals proved fruitless, the settlers began to cultivate the fertile land, the main crops being wheat, pastel and pigment extracted from lichens. In particular, the flourishing export of dye plants to Flanders and England brought power to the island, which - along with the fact that Spanish ships laden with riches also used Horta as a port of call on their return voyages from their colonies in America - attracted many privateers, and Faial was the target of plundering several times during the 16th and 17th centuries. Other setbacks occurred around this time, such as the huge eruption of Cabeço de Fogo in 1672 and some devastating earthquakes. However, the island's inhabitants soon recovered from these setbacks, not least thanks to the exploitation of the neighboring island of Pico, which had always been administered by Faial. Known as the blue island not only because of its countless hydrangea hedges, but also because of its close connection with the sea, the Port of Horta was an important depot for sea and air connections (seaplanes) and submarine cable connections in the North Atlantic, while also maintaining a significant activity as a commercial port and a place of call for yachts on crossings between the American continent and Europe. There have been several years in which the Port has one of the highest records of vessels entering and leaving Europe.