connected by the southern extension of the regional E.R.1-1ª roadway and a northern municipal road in the interior. Farmlands dominate the coastal plain between the neighbouring parishes of Angústias and Castelo Branco, while the coast is a rocky area formed by rugged lava stones and cliffs undercut by the Atlantic Ocean. The highest point in the parish is the peak of Cangueiro, approximately above sea level, below the crater rim of Cabeço Gordo. The coastal cliffs, which mark the southern border of the town, are at most above sea level. Lava flows formed intricate geomorphological structures, highlighted by the area of Lajinha (on the eastern border). Wave motion and currents have carved this region forming coastal arches, and undercutting the E.R. 1-1ª at points near the Rua da Além. Intermittent creeks and small seasonal streams bisect the parish., supporting the growth of various settlements and neighbourhoods, involved inagriculture, including (from west to east): Ribeira do Granjo, Ribeira do São Pedro and Ribeira de Fonte do Rego. Five bridges cross these water courses at São Pedro, Porceirão, Igreja, a second one in São Pedro (at the lower part of the parish) and Ponte Nova. Bisected by these natural barriers, the parish developed in various nuclei associated with the roads and pathways that interconnected the pasturelands and woodlots along the flanks of the Cabeço Gordo volcano. Consequently, small neighbourhoods or communities developed along: the regional roadway (that included Feteira de Baixo, Caminho do Meio and Alto da Lajinha), another route that connected Feteira to Flamengos (that included Cruz da Portela, Caminho das Terças and Lameiro Grande), a second lateral road that included Farrobim do Sul and intersected the interior towards Flamengos (that included Cimo de São Pedro, Atalaia, Grotas, Fonte do Rego and Cimo do Granjo), and a roadway that bisected these arterials starting in Angústias (from Courelas, across Cruz da Portela, to Portela and Grotas, to Fonte do Rego). Economy Agriculture is the primary source of income. Historically, the parish has cultivated potatoes, supported orange and lemon orchards, as well as large quantities of wheat and corn. Documents for 1886 indicate a cultivation of of potatoes. Most of these crops were cultivated for export, although small itinerant banana fields were cultivated for local consumption. These continue to important crops, but currently, the cattle and dairy industry is generally accepted as the primary source of agro-business (although some lambs are raised). The