The Capelinhos (from Capelo + -inhos diminutive, which literally means "little cape") is a monogenetic volcano located on the western coast of Faial Island in the Azores.

It is part of the larger volcanic complex of Capelo, which includes 20 scoria cones and lava fields that are aligned west-northwest to east-southeast from the Caldeira Volcano caldera.

While enlarging the land by 2.4 km2, it spawned 300 seismic events, hurled ash 1 km, destroyed 300 houses in the parishes of Capelo and Praia do Norte and caused the evacuation of 2,000 people (emigration to the US and Canada).

[3] In respect of its importance in enhancing understanding of submarine volcanoes, Capelhinos was included by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) in its assemblage of 100 'geological heritage sites' around the world in a listing published in October 2022.

[5] On September 23, the ocean waters off the coast of Ponte dos Capelinhos began to boil, and the first vapours were witnessed around 6:30 a.m. one kilometre northwest of the lighthouse.

By the next day, the first ash-fall began on land; "in a few hours a black mat covered the extreme West of island...",[5] reaching 2.5 kilometres from the crater, necessitating the evacuation of the settlements of Norte Pequeno and Canto.

This intense eruption occurred until the end of October with constant ash raining on Faial, destroying cultural lands, inhibiting normal farming and forcing the residents from local villages to evacuate.

During this period the cinder cone and isthmus became an integral part of the island of Faial, destroying the roofs of the local buildings and infilling the space to the lighthouse.

During this final stage (around 14 May), fumaroles were discovered inside Faial's caldera, that began emitting sulfurous water vapor, boiling clay and mud.

Although one person nearly fell into the Capelinhos crater, there were no deaths from the eruption; generally, ash deposits and some projectiles caused the destruction of homes and the blanketing of agricultural lands in the parishes of Capelo and Praia do Norte.

This resulted in a 50% decrease of the resident population of Capelo, and contributed to an increased standard of living, greater working opportunities and some improvements in base incomes.