for cultivating the economy of the island and supporting its population, aid to agriculture and generating markets abroad for their goods. As well as owning the Fayal shipping line, he was US consul for the Azores 18261871; one of the three Dabneys who for many years held the post of American consul for the Azores. The growth of industry and trans-Atlantic sail traffic also expanded Horta's importance, as a safe harbor and coal storage base. In 1919, the first airplane to cross the Atlantic stopped at Horta. Horta's exceptional situation also led to Pan American establishing a Clipper base there. Similarly, British, American, French, German and Italian intercontinental submarine cable stations were based in Horta. During World War Two, Horta was also an important naval base, giving shelter to some of the Allied ships that took part in the Normandy invasion. The island, dependent on whaling and agriculture, remained prosperous until the eruption of Capelinhos volcano in 1957. Communities of the northern and western coast were harshly affected by the eruption, as agricultural lands were untillable and covered with sand and ash. This led to the migration of 4,000 people to the United States, spearheaded by members of the Portuguese diaspora in New England and Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy. In addition, whaling, as a viable commercial enterprise was slowly curtailed with innovations in the chemical sector and the influence of animal-rights groups. Economic and political changes since the 1980s have helped to revitalize the island's economy and development. After the Azores gained the status of an Autonomous Region within Portugal, Horta, the island's only city, hosted the Regional Parliament (Parlamento Regional) of the Azores. Geography Physical geography Along with other islands in the Azores archipelago, Faial is of volcanic origin, being one of the most volcanically active islands of the archipelago, and is close to the tectonic divide between the European and North American Plates. The island can be considered (from a geophysical perspective) the westernmost point of Europe (the two islands west of Faial, Flores and Corvo, are already on the American plate). Visually, the island is characterized as an irregular pentagon, that occupies an area of approximately , and formed along a leaky transform fault extending from the mid-Atlantic Ridge to the Hirondella faults. This is the same fault that bisects the remainder of the Central Group of islands along a west-northwest to east-southeast orientation. Although formed