Caldeirão Grande Lagoon

Category: Nature > Lagoon

District: Açores > Ponta Delgada > Feteiras

Location:

Lagoa do Caldeirão Grande is located in the parish of Feteiras, in the municipality of Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel, Azores. It is situated in a mountainous rural context, with slopes covered by reforestation areas and wild vegetation, offering a green environment that contrasts with the calm water of the lagoon.

The water body is surrounded by a lined embankment and a circulation platform that allows proximity to the shore, providing distinct perspectives of the basin's interior and the adjacent landscape. The open sky and nearby peaks create a sense of amplitude and recall the island's volcanic geography.

Origin and Function:

The lagoon is an artificial infrastructure designed to support water management and distribution, primarily for agricultural purposes. Its requalification, completed in 2023, strengthened its storage capacity, now making approximately 47,000 cubic meters of water available, representing a gain in resilience against climate variability and cycles of intense rain and drought.

This intervention also aimed to increase the structure's robustness, better integrating it into the region's agricultural supply network, with attention to the continuity and regularity of supply. The lagoon is thus part of a broader strategy for rationalizing water resources on the island of São Miguel.

Physical Aspect and Visual Experience:

The basin features modern linings that stand out for their defined geometry and the smooth surface surrounding the water. A walkway crosses part of the lagoon, inviting careful approach and offering interesting visual framing for observation or photography. The line between the stagnant water and the embankments delineates soft, curved shapes that dialogue with the forested slopes in the background.

The contrast between the blue sky with scattered clouds and the deep green of the trees on the nearby elevations reinforces the transition between the artificial and the natural. The environment is serene, with a sense of clarity and space, even though the presence of the infrastructure indicates a deliberate human intervention on the territory.

Interpretation and Context:

Lagoa do Caldeirão Grande is an example of how water resources are managed on the islands, where water abundance can coexist with distribution and storage challenges. Its existence reflects recent responses to extreme climate phenomena and the need to make agriculture more sustainable through more controlled and efficient management of available water.

More than an isolated element, the lagoon is part of a continuous effort of adaptation of the Azorean territory, demonstrating the link between engineering, landscape, and agricultural use. For the observer, it is a place where human intervention with a clear functional purpose is recognized, but which also integrates into a landscape of great natural presence.

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt