Azores
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Azores. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
or WESTERN ISLANDS, a Portuguese archipelago, in the mid- Atlantic, between 36° 55' and 39° 55′ N. lat. and between 25° 10' and 31° 16′ W. long. Stretching over a distance of 400 miles, their nine islands are divided into three distinct groups-Sta. Maria and Sao Miguel in the S. E.; Terceira, Sao Jorge, Pico, Pico, Graciosa, and Fayal in the middle; and Flores and Corvo in the N. W. Of these, Flores lies 1,176 miles W. of Cape Rocca in Portugal, 1,484 S. W. of Falmouth, and 1,708 E. S. E. of Halifax. In 1431-1453 the Azores were taken possession of by the Portuguese. They were at that time uninhabited; but that they had been visited by the Carthaginians is proved by Punic coins found on Corvo. They seem to have been known to the Arabian geographer Edrisi in the 12th century; and they are marked distinctly on a map of 1351. The Portuguese colonists called the whole group Azores, from acor or azor, a hawk; and they named two individual islands, Corvo and Saõ Jorge, from Corvi Marini and San Zorze, which, according to a map of 1375, had been previously seen in the Western ocean. In 1466 Alfonso V. made a life grant of the island of Fayal to his aunt, the Duchess of Burgundy, and from this circumstance many settlers migrated thither from Flanders. The total area of the group is 919 miles, and the pop. about 260,000. square m The capital is Angra, in Terceira; but Ponta Delgada, in Sao Miguel, is a larger of volcanic town. The Azores are origin, and with the exception of Corvo, Flores, and Graciosa, are still liable to eruptions and vi violent earthquakes, the worst of 21 shocks since 1444 having been those of 1591, 1638, 1719, and 1841. Hot mineral springs are numerous; and the baths of Furnas, in Sao Miguel, are much resorted to by invalids. The islands have a considerable trade in fruit with Portugal, England, Brazil, and other countries. The greatest want of the group is a good harbor. The Azores are regarded as a province, not a colony, of Portugal, and as belonging to Europe.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a-zo'res, a group of islands in the Atlantic, 800 miles off the coast of Portugal. Area, 922 square miles. Population, 256,291. The islands have long been a possession of Portugal. The name is derived from a Portuguese word meaning a hawk. The entire group is volcanic. Repeated eruptions and earthquake shocks are reported, the latest in 1867. It is interesting to know what plants and animals are found in these rugged islands so far out at sea. Of 478 species of plants, only four grow in America, forty are found nowhere but on the Azores, and over 400 are native to the mainland of Europe. Tropical fruits, such as the orange, lemon, and banana are raised to advantage. Hemp and the ordinary cereal grains are produced. Wine and figs are exported. Of wild animals, the rat, mouse, weasel, and ferret have followed civilization. Bats are found in the cliffs. The coasts swarm with fish. Several species of birds are so numerous as to injure the fields of small grain seriously. A bounty offered for their destruction includes the canary. The Britannica is our authority for a statement that the bounty for a single year represented a long list of 420,000 birds, including the bullfinch, chaffinch, redbreast, blackbird, and canary. The woodcock, partridge, quail, and snipe are found in the islands. 2026 Editor's Note: The Azores gave meteorology a household name: the 'Azores High,' the great semi-permanent zone of high pressure whose wanderings help steer the weather of both Europe and eastern North America. Straddling the Mid-Atlantic Ridge where the ocean floor is splitting apart, the green Portuguese islands are now a hub for whale-watc hing and mid-ocean tourism. (Ed: BR 2026-06-15)