Fora (islet)
Original title: Fora (Ilhéu de)
The Ilhéu de Fora, also called Ilhéu do Farol, is the easternmost islet of Madeira, lying off the Ponta de São Lourenço. It has carried a lighthouse since September 1870 and has a telegraph station linked to Funchal.
It is also known as the Ilhéu do Farol (Lighthouse Islet). Next to the Ponta de São Lourenço (‘St Lawrence Point’), and separated from it only by a narrow channel, lies the small islet called Agostinho. Very close to it is the Ilhéu dos Desembarcadouros, and a short distance away the Ilhéu de Fora, or do Farol. The last two are separated from each other by a channel known as the Boqueirão Grande (‘great gap’), which is about 180 metres wide and 8 deep and gives easy passage to the coastal steamers that frequently pass that way. This islet is the easternmost point of Madeira, and since September 1870 it has had a working lighthouse, which has rendered valuable service to shipping. Its lantern stands about 100 m above sea level and is situated at 32° 41' north latitude and 16° 39' west longitude (Greenwich). It is a white light with intermittent flashes, visible from 25 miles away. There is also a telegraph station there, linked to the central station in Funchal. To the south-west of the Ilhéu de Fora lies the dangerous shoal of Badajeira (see that entry). The altitude of this islet is 107 m.
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Places mentioned · 07- Ilhéu de Fora · Subject
Machico. Subject of the entry; the easternmost point of Madeira, 107 m high, with a lighthouse.
The Ilhéu de Fora, also called Ilhéu do Farol, is the outermost islet off the Ponta de São Lourenço and the easternmost point of Madeira, 107 m high. It has carried a lighthouse since September 1870 and has a telegraph station linked to Funchal and a quay serving the lighthouse staff. It marks the Madeira end of the Travessa do Porto Santo and is the starting point of the channels measured in the archipelago.
- Badajeira
Machico. Dangerous shoal south-west of the islet.
Badajeira is a dangerous shoal near the Ilhéu de Fora, off the Ponta de São Lourenço. The steamers Forerunner (1854) and Newton (1881) were wrecked there in calm seas.
- Boqueirão Grande
Channel about 180 m wide and 8 m deep used by coastal steamers.
Boqueirão Grande is the sea passage at Ponta de São Lourenço between the Ilhéu Vermelho (dos Desembarcadouros) and the Ilhéu de Fora. It is about 180 m wide and 8 m deep, and boats and coastal steamers use it in calm seas.
- Funchal
Site of the central telegraph station to which the islet's station is linked.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.
- Ilhéu do Agostinho
Machico. Small islet next to the Ponta de São Lourenço, separated from it by a narrow channel.
Islet off the Ponta de São Lourenço, lying west of the Ilhéu de Fora.
- Ilhéu dos Desembarcadouros
Machico. Islet close to the Ilhéu do Agostinho, separated from the Ilhéu de Fora by the Boqueirão Grande.
The Ilhéu dos Desembarcadouros, also called Vermelho, da Metade, da Cevada or dos Embarcadouros, is the largest of the three islets off the Ponta de São Lourenço. It lies between the Ilhéu de Agostinho and the Ilhéu de Fora, from which the Boqueirão Grande separates it. It is notable for rare plants found only there in Madeira and is used to locate the Aguagem shoal.
- Ponta de São Lourenço
Machico. Eastern headland of Madeira off which the islets lie.
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.