Ponta do Bode

On the northern slope of the parish of Caniçal, a protected site of reddish tones known locally as 'Mars in Madeira'. The name comes from a local legend: a bode, a goat, is said to have fallen from these cliffs; it already appears on maps of the late nineteenth century. The place holds two geosites. The first is where the Upper Volcanic Complex reaches the surface: it is the island's best point to observe spheroidal weathering. The second, inside the Natura 2000 network and the Ponta de São Lourenço Natural Monument, shows a 'dykes within dykes' complex, typical of fissural volcanism.