Abra (cove, landing place, point and locality)
Original title: Abra (enseada, porto, ponta e sítio da)
The Abra bay, point, anchorage and locality near Ponta de São Lourenço, the widest cove of Madeira, once proposed for a military port; also the only site of Helichrysum devium.
This term is used only as a place name in Madeira. At the eastern end of the island, near Ponta de São Lourenço (‘St Lawrence Point’), between the Abra (‘bay’) and Furado (‘pierced’) points, lies the cove of Abra. Of all the small coves of Madeira it is the widest and the most deeply indented, forming a relatively spacious bay with a good anchorage. During the Pombaline administration there was a plan to build a military port and its arsenal in this cove, and in the first quarter of the 19th century the idea of establishing a small harbour of refuge there was also raised. Besides a beach or pebble beach (calhau), there is a privately owned landing quay. Bounding the cove to the west is a projection of the coastline called Ponta de Abra, and the name Abra is also kept by the locality (sítio) which, with its high peaks, curves round the cove and its adjoining landing place.
Helichrysum devium, a composite peculiar to Madeira, has so far been found only on the high rocks of the locality of Abra, whereas H. abconicum occurs near the sea along almost the whole of the island’s south coast.
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Place
Places mentioned · 05- Abra · Subject
Machico. Locality whose high rocks host Helichrysum devium.
Abra is an inlet, point, anchorage and locality near the Ponta de São Lourenço, the widest cove of Madeira, listed as a small cove with a fair port and bounded by the Ponta do Furado. Its high rocks are the only site of Helichrysum devium, and a quay was built there in 1905.
- Baía da Abra
Machico. The largest cove of Madeira, subject of the entry.
The Baía da Abra is a large bay in the parish of Caniçal, the largest cove of Madeira, rich in fish and larger than Machico's. It has a quay and good fodder lands, and was once studied for a harbour and naval arsenal.
- Ponta da Abra
Machico. Point bounding the bay to the west.
Ponta da Abra is a headland in the municipality of Machico, Madeira. It bounds the bay of Abra to the west and is recorded as a secondary point of São Lourenço.
- Ponta de São Lourenço
Machico. Eastern tip near which the bay lies.
The Ponta de São Lourenço is the long, narrow eastern headland of Madeira in the parish of Caniçal, said to be named after the caravel São Lourenço, with a lighthouse on its islet. The Elucidário describes its geology, seasonal vegetation, islets, fossil calcareous bodies at Piedade, land snails and use as pasture. The steamer Forerunner sank there in 1884, and a submarine bank lies between it and the Desertas.
- Ponta do Furado
Machico. Point bounding the bay.
The Ponta do Furado is a secondary point of the Ponta de São Lourenço in the municipality of Machico. The opening of the Rocha Furada lies in its rocks, it bounds the Abra bay, and the Penedo do Saco stands near it. A separate headword gives the name also to the south-western point of Porto Santo, called Ponta da Cana Vieira.