SANTA MARIA ISLAND

Portuguese Ilha De Santa Maria, southeasternmost island of the Azores archipelago (a part of Portugal), in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has an area of 37 sq mi (97 sq km). Its economy is based chiefly on fishing and cattle raising, and cereals and vines are cultivated. On the island's western plateau is an important international airport (originally constructed as a U.S. air base in 1944) for transatlantic flights. The island's capital, Vila do Porto, founded in the 1430s, is the oldest town in the Azores; it has a 15th-century parish church and a commemorative stela, dedicated in 1432 to the discoverers. Columbus, returning from his first voyage to America in 1493, called at what is now the hamlet of Anjos on the northern coast. Pop. (1981) 6,500.