Portugal
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
96.9km²
Area
78km
Coastline
587m
Highest point
Pico Alto
5,406
People
24°C
Warmest sea
August
1,392km
To the mainland
When to go to Santa Maria Island
Best for the beach from August to September.
The sea is warmest in August (24 °C) and coolest in February (17 °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 Azores, Portugal
Santa Maria Island is an island in Portugal. It covers 96.9 km², with 78 km of coastline. Its highest point, Pico Alto, rises to 587 m. About 5,406 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,392 km away.
Getting there
- Santa Maria Airport (SMA)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at SMA airport (Vila do Porto)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- Ferries1 ferry terminals on the island
- 1,392 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From August to Septemberbest 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 Santa Maria Island.
- 7beaches
- 23viewpointsMiradouro da Macela, Pico Alto, Miradouro São Lourenço and 20 more
- 1lighthousesFarol de Gonçalo Velho
- 1ferry terminalsVila do Porto
- 1marinasVila do Porto
- 17named peaksPico Alto, Cavacas, Caldeira and 14 more
- 4waterfallsCalçada do Gigante Waterfall, Cascata do Aveiro, Waterfall and 1 more
- 2castles and fortsForte de São João Baptista da Praia Formosa, Forte de São Brás
- 3ruins and archaeological sitesLagar, Fábrica da Baleia do Castelo
- 10waymarked walking routesPR05SMA Costa Sul, PRC03SMA Entre a Serra e o Mar, PRC02SMA Pico Alto and 7 more
- 1campsites
- 15hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 20restaurants, 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
Santa Maria Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Santa Maria Island, each with its own numbers.
4beaches and covesCoastya
3mountainsPeakyas
3waterfallsCascadyas
Highest point
587m
Pico Alto
prominence 587 m · according to Peakyas
Tallest waterfall
110m
Aveiro waterfall
according to Cascadyas
Beach with the warmest sea
23.6°C
Praia Formosa
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
4 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Praia Formosa23.6°C
- Praia de São Lourenço23.6°C
- Furna do Milhocove23.6°C
- Furna da Burracove23.6°C
3 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Pico Altoprominence 587 m587m
- Pico do Norte249m
- Facho126m
3 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Aveiro waterfall110m
- Cascade of the stream of Maloás
- Raposo Bay Waterfall
Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 194 m above the sea. 52 % of it is below 200 m.
- 8 %0–50 m
- 45 %50–200 m
- 47 %200–500 m
- <1 %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.
10 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
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 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 19 | 18 |
| Night low (°C) | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 17 |
| Sea (°C) | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 18 |
| Rain (mm) | 64 | 54 | 69 | 45 | 38 | 21 | 16 | 23 | 43 | 71 | 57 | 90 |
| Wet days | 12 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 15 |
| Sun h/day | 4.0 | 4.9 | 6.3 | 7.3 | 8.5 | 9.0 | 9.3 | 9.4 | 7.9 | 5.8 | 4.5 | 3.4 |
| 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 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +0.3 | +0.3 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.2 | −0.1 | −0.5 |
| 2021 | −0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +1.1 | +1.1 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +1.4 | +1.3 | +0.9 |
| 2022 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +0.3 | +0.6 | −0.1 | −0.4 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.5 |
| 2023 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +1.4 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +1.5 | +0.7 | +1.1 | +1.0 | +1.1 |
| 2024 | +1.3 | +1.7 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +1.8 | +1.5 | +1.2 | +2.3 | +1.3 | +1.4 | +1.2 | +1.2 |
| 2025 | +1.1 | +1.2 | +0.8 | ±0.0 | +0.4 | +1.2 | +0.1 | +0.7 | +0.1 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +0.8 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q217262) · 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, Peakyas, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit 
lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit