Azores

The Azores are a Portuguese archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, about 1,500 km from Lisbon and about 3,900 km from the east coast of North America. The archipelago forms the Autonomous Region of Azores, one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal.

Beginning in 1868, Portugal issued its stamps overprinted with "AÇORES" for use in the islands. From 1836 to 1976, the archipelago was divided into three districts, quite equivalent (except in area) to those in the Portuguese mainland, Angra, Horta and Ponta Delgada. Between 1892 and 1906, it also issued separate stamps for the three administrative districts.