The Azores ( , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal, composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the North Atlantic Ocean about west of continental Portugal, about northwest of Madeira, about southeast of Newfoundland, and about northeast of Brazil. Its main industries are agriculture, dairy farming (for cheese and butter products primarily), livestock ranching, fishing, and tourism, which is becoming the major service activity in the region. In addition to this, the government of the Azores employs a large percentage of the population directly or indirectly in many aspects of the service and tertiary sectors. The main settlement of the Azores is Ponta Delgada.