The Berlengas are a Portuguese archipelago consisting of small Atlantic islands off the coast of Peniche, Portugal, in the Oeste region. These islands were traditionally known to British mariners as "the Burlings". The only inhabited island is its largest island, Berlenga Grande, although there is currently no permanent habitation in the archipelago. The other islands are grouped into two groups of islets, the Estelas Islets and the Farilhões-Forcados Islets.
History
Human occupation on Berlenga Grande dates back to antiquity: the islands are referred to in Ptolemy's Geography as Λονδοβρίς (Londobris). Much later it was referred to as the island of Saturno by Roman geographers, and was visited successively by Muslims, Vikings and privateers.
The islands are thought to be a former sacred place adopted by the Phoenicians in the first millennium BC where the cult of Baal–Melqart was celebrated.
In 1513, with the support of Queen Eleanor of Viseu, monks from the Order of São Jerónimo established a settlement on the island to offer assistance to navigation and victims of frequent shipwrecks. The monastery founded there, the Monastery of the Misericórdia da Berlenga, remained until the 16th century, when disease, lack of supplies and poor communication (due to constant inclement weather) forced the monks to abandon their service on the island.
After the Portuguese Restoration War, during the reign of King John IV, the council of war determined that the demolition of the monastery ruins and the use of their rocks to build a coastal defense would help protect the coastal settlements; the Fort of São João Baptista das Berlengas was constructed from the remnants of the monastery ruins. By 1655, it had already, during its construction, resisted an assault by three Barbary Coast pirates.
The island's lighthouse (dubbed Duke of Braganza by locals) was constructed in 1841. In the 20th century a solar panel was installed in the lighthouse's column, providing a field of vision.
The International Coordinating Council of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB), meeting in Dresden (Germany) from 28 June to 1 July, while adding 18 new sites, included the Berlengas to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR): in a statement on 30 June 2011, the list of classified reserves were presented.
Geography
The archipelago is made up of the largest island, Berlenga Grande, and two groups of smaller islets, the Estelas Inlets and the Farilhões-Forcados Islets. As the archipelago has been declared a reservation area for the protection of the local fauna (primarily sea birds), it is only visited by scientists and, in the summer, by a small number of tourists.
There is little soil on the rocky archipelago, so little plant life is supported. Sea birds and marine life, such as mackerel, mullet, and swordfish are abundant.
Berlenga Grande
At long and wide, Berlenga Grande is the largest of the islands of the Berlengas Archipelago. At its highest, it rises to above sea level. The island has a number of notable caves, including Gruta Azul (English: "Blue Grotto") and Furado Grande (English: "Big Hole"). The Furado Grande is a natural tunnel wide and tall which crosses through the entire island before opening up into a dramatic bay.
The Fort of São João Baptista (English: "Fort of St. John the Baptist") is located in the waters off the southeastern coast of Berlenga Grande, on a small islet connected to the island by a causeway/arch-bridge and anchorage to the north. It has been retrofitted as a rest house for tourists to stay at while visiting the islands.
Farilhões-Forcados Islets
The Farilhões-Forcados Islets are uninhabited islands located northwest of Berlenga Grande.
Geology
These islands consist of a pink granite very rare in Europe and very common in America, rich in feldspars. Erosion has created remarkable landforms, such as the "sugar loaf", or even narrow valleys with almost vertical walls (the carreiros, formed by selective erosion along subvertical fault planes), as well as numerous caves and marine tunnels
The different groups of islands have different morphology, composition and origins. Berlenga Grande and Estelas are of igneous origin, composed of pink granites, and occur in outcrops with rounded morphologies, generally with flattened tops. The Farilhões Forcadas group, on the other hand, consists of metamorphic rocks, where reliefs characterized by sharp peaks and vertical cliffs stand out.