Fajã de Lopo Vaz

The Fajã de Lopo Vaz, is a permanent debris field, built from the collapsing cliffs on the southern coast of the civil parish of Lajes, municipality of the same name, island of Flores, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. It may have been one of the first points of settlement on the island, owing to its name, which is associated with one of the first settlers.HistorySometime between 1500 and 1528, during the administration of João da Fonseca, the 5th donatary-captain of Flores and Corvo, settlers began arriving on the island of flores, including Lopo Vaz and Antão Vaz, relatives who began small settlements. It is unclear whether the fajã was the result of these settlers, or their name were assigned to the geological feature. What is known, is that due to its isolation, early settlers were self-sufficient since access to the fajã was made difficult by only existing pedestrian trails. Today, a trail still connects the site to the main roadway in Lajes, but no motor vehicles can reach the fajã. A a potable spring, located in the fajã, was likely to have affected sustaining settlement by colonists, providing drinking water and a source for irrigating their crops, in particular taro.This fajã is still one of the few locations on the island of Flores where wild goats exist, although their origin is unknown; speculation does exist that they were either descendants of early animals abandoned on the island to "populate" the lands for settlement or domesticated animals who were left to graze throughout the centuries.