[3] A local historian once described the heritage of this community, and particular, the rise of a few families: Around 1765, the first chapel dedicated to São Paul was established by peoples from Vila Franca do Campo; at the time, Ribeira Quente was a parish within this municipality.

It was during the visit of King Carlos I of Portugal that a stone marker was placed to commemorate the beginning of the construction of the access road: this project would only be completed 37 years later.

[3] During the first half of the 20th century, one of the larger engineering projects carried out on the island of São Miguel was the construction of two tunnels (referred locally as the Tuneis de Liberidade) that linked Furnas to the southern village.

[3] This marked the end of the community's isolation from the rest of the island; until this time, the village could only be accessed by dirt road, horse or cattle-carts (approximately 360 years since its founding).

These project was part of a plan for greater economic and social development in the region, resulting in the re-qualification and improvements to roadlinks, and the expansion of the fishing port (which was completed in the middle of the century).

[3] The landslide engulfed the homes between the localities of Fogo and Ribeira Quente, killing 29 people who lived in the area of Canada da Igreja.

[4] This is a coastal community, at the mouth of a major ravine and bordered by the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo on the west, the parishes of Furnas to the north, and Povoação to the east.

Many of the lands in the northern part of the parish are owned by José do Canto and the benevolent society of Furnas, fronting the hilltop of Pico dos Bodes.

It is located in a seismic area marked by regional tectonic structures and by the volcanic craters of Furnas and Povoação; there are visible examples of dykes, faults and landslides associated with historical earthquakes.

Physically, the population groups are concentrated in two areas: the main village of Ribeira Quente and a smaller agglomeration called Fogo.