Fajã

A faja, also spelled faja with a tilde in Portuguese, is a term of obscure origin for the supratidal talus that collects at the foot of a coastal cliff, built up by landslides or by lava flows reaching the sea, and it also names the small flat, often cultivable, patch of land by the shore that this fallen material creates. Because tides and tidal currents have only a minor effect on the resulting coastal shape, these deposits tend to persist as stable, flat land once they form. Fajas occur worldwide but are especially characteristic of the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands, volcanic archipelagos with steep coastal cliffs and, in many cases, lava flows that reach the ocean.