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Located in the parish of Cedros, this protected area of ​​the Caldeira, with 313 hectares, encompasses the entire Caldeira do Faial, implanted on top of the central volcano of the island, a cerrovolcanic one with about 400 thousand years.



It constitutes a collapsed caldera, about 2 kilometers in diameter, and is the youngest caldera in the Azores, with about 1000 years. Inside, it houses two-thirds of the endemic vascular flora of the Azores, in perfect condition, as well as endemic fauna of Faial and the Archipelago.



The Caldeira has a small slag cone inside and a trachytic lava dome next to the southwest wall, the Rocha do Altar. Next to the south edge is the highest point of the island, Cabeço Gordo, with 1043 meters. Inside the caldera, there was once a permanent pond, resulting from the accumulation of rainwater, which infiltrated following the seismic crisis of May 1958 associated with the eruption of the Capelinhos Volcano (1957/58), giving rise to a small explosion water table inside the caldera.

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