The growth and decay of oceanic volcanoes developed close to plate boundaries are
intrinsically related to a competition between construction and destruction processes, partly
controlled by tectonic strain and stresses. From morphologic, stratigraphic, tectonic and new
high-precision K–Ar data, we present a comprehensive picture of the volcano-tectonic
evolution of Santa Maria, and discuss its significance regarding the stress evolution and
regional deformation in the Azores. Our new data show that:(1) the western flat portion of the …