1. FOREWORD
27 September 2007 marks the 50th anniversary of the birth of the Capelinhos Volcano at the western end of Faial, one of the islands in the Azores.

There were huge limitations on the study of underwater volcanic activity until it became possible to study the planet in a wide variety of ways from more or less sophisticated satellites after the 1980s. For reasons known only to Mother Nature, the Capelinhos Volcano broke through the island’s crust along the same fault as genetically similar predecessors (such as the Costado da Nau Volcano) at the westernmost end of Faial.

After so many years, Capelinhos can still be considered unique in the world of volcanological science, as it was photographed, observed, studied and interpreted right from the beginning (around 7 a.m. on 27 September 1957) until it “fell asleep” on a quiet afternoon of 24 October 1958. All this attention was the result of the proximity to Faial of an inimitable local engineer called Frederico Machado (Director of the District Public Works Department) and the team that he set up while the volcanic activity and the erosion period lasted. His work was, of course, authorised by the Civil Governor, Freitas Pimentel, a physician by profession. He was sensitive to nature’s manifestations and concerned for the safety of the local inhabitants for whom he was responsible.