Puerto Plata | |
|---|---|
Municipality | |
| San Felipe de Puerto Plata | |
 View from the air of Puerto Plata and the Isabel de Torres mountain | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Puerto Plata | |
| Coordinates:19°48′N70°41′W /19.800°N 70.683°W /19.800; -70.683 | |
| Country |  Dominican Republic |
| Province | Puerto Plata |
| Founded | 1502 |
| Municipality since | 1844 |
| Municipal Districts | Yásica Arriba, Maimón |
| Area | |
| • Total | 210.7 km2 (81.4 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 31.96 km2 (12.34 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 8 m (26 ft) |
| Population (2014)[1] | |
| • Total | 128,240 |
| • Density | 610/km2 (1,600/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 118,496 |
| Demonym(s) | Puertoplateño (female, puertoplateña) |
| Time zone | UTC-4 (AST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (AST) |
| Distance: | 69 km (43 mi) toSantiago 215 km (134 mi) toSanto Domingo |
TheDominicancity ofSan Felipe de Puerto Plata, usually called justPuerto Plata is the headmunicipality of thePuerto Plataprovince, on the north (Atlantic) coast of the country.
The namePuerto Plata ("Silver Port") came from the name given byColumbus to themountain just to the south of the city:Monte de Plata ("Silver Mountain") because the mountain always hadclouds on its top and not because there was themetalsilver; that mountain now is calledIsabel de Torres mountain (inSpanish, the complete name isLoma Isabel de Torres). Isabel de Torres was a lady who lived in Puerto Plata in 1605 and had a lot of land in the mountain.[4]
The city was called firstPuerto de Plata but later it was changed to justPuerto Plata, the name that is still used
Columbus visited the Puerto Plata Bay on 11 January 1493. The city was founded and built byNicolás de Ovando in 1502. Soon it became the most importantport in the northern coast of theHispaniola island and, in 1508, theking ofSpain gave acoat of arms to the city.
Because there were manypirates and otherBritish andFrenchships along the northern coast of the island, afort was built here by orders ofCarlos I, king of Spain; itsconstruction took several years and it was finished in 1577. Because at that moment the Spanish's king wasFelipe II, the fort was namedFuerte San Felipe (in English,Saint Phillip Fort).
In 1606, those that were living in the towns of Puerto Plata andMonte Cristi were ordered by the Spanish king to move to the southeast of the island and to found a new town:Monte Plata. Puerto Plata and Monte Cristi were, then, destroyed. They were founded again in the 18thcentury withfamilies that came from theCanary Islands.
Themunicipality had, in2014, a total population of 128,240: 63,564 men and 64,676 women. The urban population was92.4% of the total population.[1]
San Felipe de Puerto Plata has a total area of210.7 km2 (81 sq mi) (without including its municipal districts), about11.7% of the total area of the province of Puerto Plata.[1] The city is at anelevation of8 m (26 ft),[3] and at215 km (134 mi) to the north ofSanto Domingo.
TheCordillera Septentrional ("Northernmountain range") runs along the southern half of the municipality. There are only two roads that go through this mountain range. It rains a lot in these mountains.
The mountain "Loma Isabel de Torres" (the "Monte de Plata" of Columbus) is at about5 km (3.1 mi) to the southeast of the city of Puerto Plata. It stands alone even if it is part of the Cordillera Septentrional. On top of the mountain, there israinforest because it gets a lot of rain there; it rains almost every day. That forest is now anational park. It is799 m (2,621 ft) high and there are two ways for getting to the top: by road or by acable car (a type ofcar that runs oncables above the car).[4]
There are many rivers in the municipality but, because the Cordillera Septentrional is close to the coast, they are all very short. The two most important rivers are Camú del Norte and Yásica. Two small rivers that are close to the city are San Marcos and Muñoz.
There are somebays along the coast. Two of them are thePuerto Plata Bay andMaimón Bay.
Puerto Plata has atropical wetclimate (Köppen-Geiger classification:Af) with no dry or cold season as it is constantly moist (rainfalls during the whole year).[5]
Theaverage amount ofrainfall for the year in the city is1,926 mm (75.8 in). The month with the most precipitation on average is December with307 mm (12.1 in) ofrainfall, followed by November with283 mm (11.1 in).
The driestseason issummer. The month with the least rainfall on average is July with an average of78 mm (3.1 in) and the second is June with82 mm (3.2 in).
Puerto Plata is in a warm region; the averagetemperature for the year is25 °C (77.0 °F). The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of27 °C (80.6 °F). The coolest month on average is February, with an average temperature of22.5 °C (72.5 °F).
| Climate data for Puerto Plata (1961–1990) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 27 (81) | 27 (81) | 28 (82) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 31 (88) | 31 (88) | 31 (88) | 31 (88) | 31 (88) | 29 (84) | 28 (82) | 29 (85) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 23 (73) | 22.5 (72.5) | 23.5 (74.3) | 24.5 (76.1) | 25 (77) | 26.5 (79.7) | 27 (81) | 27 (81) | 26.5 (79.7) | 26.5 (79.7) | 25 (77) | 23.5 (74.3) | 25.0 (77.1) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 19 (66) | 18 (64) | 19 (66) | 20 (68) | 21 (70) | 22 (72) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 22 (72) | 22 (72) | 21 (70) | 19 (66) | 21 (69) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 209 (8.2) | 162 (6.4) | 134 (5.3) | 160 (6.3) | 168 (6.6) | 82 (3.2) | 78 (3.1) | 88 (3.5) | 97 (3.8) | 158 (6.2) | 283 (11.1) | 307 (12.1) | 1,926 (75.8) |
| Source:Climatemps.com[5] | |||||||||||||
The municipality of San Felipe de Puerto Plata has twomunicipal districts:[6]
| Code | Municipal district | Population (2010) |
|---|---|---|
| 180102 | Yásica Arriba | 8,791 |
| 180103 | Maimón | 21,725 |
