About this place
Pico da Cabrita is a geosite on the island of Porto Santo in the Madeira archipelago, within the municipality of Vila Baleira. It is listed among Madeira's official geosites under the code PSt06 and belongs to the volcanic category. Its coordinates are roughly 33.095° N, 16.317° W.
What is Pico da Cabrita?
It is a rise about 220 metres above sea level. Its value is mainly scientific: rocks from the earliest phase of the island's development are exposed here, when Porto Santo was still a submarine volcanic seamount. For anyone curious about geology, it is a place where the island's history can be read directly in the rock.
What can you see here?
The exposed rocks are submarine volcanoclastic deposits, known as hyaloclastites, cut by basaltic dykes. The dykes formed when magma forced its way into cracks in the earlier deposits and solidified.
How do hyaloclastites form?
When hot lava suddenly meets seawater, it cools abruptly and shatters into angular fragments of basaltic rock. This thermal shock produces a volcanic glass called sideromelane. Through hydration it gradually turns into palagonite, a yellowish alteration product of basaltic glass. This is where the typical yellowish colour of such rocks comes from.
How old are they?
The hyaloclastites of Porto Santo include the oldest known on the island. Their ages span roughly 15.2 to 19.3 million years, with the oldest deposits about 19.3 million years old.
Why is seafloor rock found on a hill?
These deposits formed underwater, yet today they sit at around 200 metres altitude. The reason is uplift of rock blocks and the tilting of the entire island from north to south, which lifted the former seafloor above the sea.
Getting there and access
Accessibility is rated as easy. The site lies right beside a paved road, so there is no extra distance to cover. The site itself is small, between 0.1 and 10 hectares, so a visit is short.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Pico da Cabrita?
On Porto Santo island (Madeira, Portugal), in the municipality of Vila Baleira.
Does the site have official status?
Yes. It is geosite PSt06 in the geodiversity inventory of the Madeira region.
Is it hard to reach?
No. Access is easy, and the site is next to a paved road.
What is the main attraction?
Submarine hyaloclastites cut by basaltic dykes, showing the early underwater stage of the island's formation.
How old is the rock?
The oldest known hyaloclastites on the island are about 19.3 million years old, and younger ones range from 15.2 to 19.3 million years.
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