The Caldeira das Sete Cidades is one of the most beautiful and imposing lakes on the Island of São Miguel, nestling in a crater with a sweeping 12-kilometer perimeter. According to the legend it is the place where seven towns, founded by expelled Spanish bishops, sank. With a diameter of 7 km, this caldera formed from a crater that collapsed during a gigantic prehistoric eruption, its present shape having been created during a tremendous eruption in 1445.
