| Ponta Delgada | |
| Distrito Autónomo de Ponta Delgada | |
| District (Distrito) | |
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The district capital of Ponta Delgada, located on the island of São Miguel
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| Official name: Distrito de Ponta Delgada | |
| Name origin: ponta delgada, Portuguese compound word for thin point | |
| Country | Portugal |
|---|---|
| Province | Ilhas Adjacentes |
| Region | Azores |
| District | Ponta Delgada |
| Municipalities | Lagoa, Ponta Delgada, Povoação, Nordeste, Ribeira Grande, Vila Franca do Campo, Vila do Porto |
| Center | Ponta Delgada |
| - elevation | 394 m (1,293 ft) |
| - coordinates | |
| Highest point | Pico da Vara |
| - location | Planalto dos Graminhais, Nordeste |
| - elevation | 1,104.74 m (3,624 ft) |
| - coordinates | |
| Lowest point | Sea level |
| - location | Atlantic Ocean |
| - elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Area | 800 km2 (309 sq mi) |
| Incorporated | 31 December 1940 |
| - Extinguished | 22 August 1975 |
| Autonomous District | District Administration |
| - location | Convent of Conceição, Ponta Delgada, Ilhas Adjacentes (Azores) |
| Civil Governor[1] | António Borges Coutinho |
| Timezone | Azores (UTC-1) |
| - summer (DST) | Azores (UTC0) |
| ISO 3166-2 code | PT- |
| Postal Zone | 9900-XXX Ponta Delgada |
| Area Code & Prefix | (+351) XXX XXX XXX |
| Demonym | Micalense; Mariense |
| Geographic detail from Instituto Geográfico Português (2010) | |
The District of Ponta Delgada was a district of the Ilhas Adjacentes (English: Adjacent Islands of the Azores), consisting of the dependent eastern islands of the archipelago, located in the Atlantic Ocean. The district of Ponta Delgada, not to be confused with the modern municipality of Ponta Delgada, existed until 1976 when it was abolished in the favour of the autonomy charter of the 1975 Portuguese Constitution.
By decree, on 18 July 1835, Mouzinho da Silveira established the districts of the Ilhas Adjacentes as part of his administrative reforms of local government. The provinces were extinguished, and the administrative and fiscal districts were created that included the eastern and western groups of islands: centred on Angra do Heroísmo and Ponta Delgada. This was followed in 1833 by an independence movement by the recently-promoted centre of Horta, forcing by 28 March 1836 division the Azorean territory into three districts. During this process Ponta Delgada did not change, and remained defined by the two eastern islands and islets of the Formigas.
During the Estado Novo regime of António de Oliveira Salazar the region obtain a level of districtal autonomy, especially after 1940.
The Autonomous District of Ponta Delgada was extinguished, along with the other districts (Horta and Angra do Heroísmo) on 22 August 1975, with the establishment of theJunta Regional dos Açores (Regional Junta of the Azores), the provisional government that assumed the competencies of the administration during the region's transition to constitutional autonomy.
With regional autonomy the districts were completely abolished: the 1976 Portuguese constitution defined in law the status of Autonomous Region without the existence of districts. Local government authority and administration fell to the upper-level Local Administrative Units(the municipalities) and second-tier LAU IIs (the civil parishes).
The district covered about 800 km² and included the two islands of Santa Maria and São Miguel and the small islets of the Formigas.
Consequently, the district included the six municipalities of:
The largest municipality by population used to be Ponta Delgada, the least populated area was Vila do Porto.