The parish's southern coast is considered the "spa region" of the island, dominated by a large bay and the black rock cliffs of Varadouro and the Mouro volcanic plug. Discovered in 1889, the warm waters at Varadouro were considered, at the time, one of the best medicinal treatments in the country for rheumatism and skin diseases; its hypersaline waters whose temperatures average , attracted "beachgoers" who travelled to the ocean-carved pools for refreshment during the Gilded Age, while partaking of the thermal waters at the spa.