Baoruco Province

Baoruco
Province
Country	Dominican Republic Dominican Republic
Capital	Neiba
- elevation	30 m (98 ft)
- coordinates	18°29′24″N 71°25′12″W
Area	1,282.23 km² (495 sq mi)
Population	91,480 (2002)
Density	71.3 /km² (185 /sq mi)
Province since	1943
Subdivisions	5 municipalities 9 municipal districts
Congresspersons	1 Senator 2 Deputies
Timezone	EST (UTC-4)
Area code	1-809 1-829 1-849
ISO 3166-2	DO-03
Location of the Baoruco Province

Baoruco, also written Bahoruco (but the "h" is not pronounced), is a Dominican province, in the western part of the country, in the Hoya de Enriquillo valley. Its capital city is Neiba (or Neyba).

It was created on 1943. It was part of the Barahona province before being elevated to the category of province. It was called Baoruco because the northern side of the Sierra de Bahoruco was part of the province; with the creation of the Independencia Province, that part went to the new province but the name was not changed.

Location

Baoruco is bordered to the north by the San Juan province, to the east by the Azua and Barahona provinces, and to the south and west by the Independencia province.

Population

In 2002 (last national census), there were 91,480 people living in the Baoruco province, and 49,530 (54.1%) living in towns and cities. The population density was 71.3 persons/km².

Its population represents 2.6% of the total population of the country and the province is ranked as the 24th (out of 31 plus the National District) more populated province.

The estimated population in the province for 2007 was of 102,817 inhabitants: 52,922 men and 49,895 women, for a population density of 80.2 persons/km².

The largest city of the province is Neiba, its head municipality or capital, with a population (in 2002) of 25,420 inhabitants.

Geography

Baoruco has a total area of 1,282.23 km². It has 2.6% of the area of the Dominican Republic and it is ranked as the 17th (out of 31 plus the National District) largest province.

The Baoruco province is in the Hoya de Enriquillo valley, a very dry valley with some parts below sea level; its capital, Neiba, has an elevation of only 10 m above sea level. In this valley is the Lake Enriquillo, and the northeastern part of the lake, about of third of its surface, belongs to the Baoruco province, including its small islands of Barbarita and Islita.

The Sierra de Neiba runs across the northern part of the province, on the border with the San Juan province.

The most important river in the province is the Yaque del Sur River, one of the longest in the country; it forms the eastern limit of the province and its water is used for irrigation. Other rivers are Las Marías and Panzo.

The climate of the province is a tropical climate, very hot and dry in the valley, but it is cooler on the mountains. In the valley, cacti and other plants of dry regions are common. There are some rainforests in the mountains.

The only important road in the province goes through the southern part of the province, along the valley, and most important towns of the province are on this road.

Municipalities

There are five municipalities and nine municipal districts (M.D.) in the province. These are:

• Neiba, head municipality of the province
  • El Palmar (M.D.)
• Galván
  • El Salado (M.D.)
• Los Ríos
  • Las Clavellinas (M.D.)
• Tamayo
  • Cabeza de Toro (M.D.)
  • Mena (M.D.)
  • Monserrat (M.D.)
  • Santa Bárbara-El 6 (M.D.)
  • Santana (M.D.)
  • Uvilla (M.D.)
• Villa Jaragua

Economy

The main economic activity of the province is agriculture and the main products are plantain in Tamayo, grape in Neiba and Los Ríos. On the Sierra de Neiba, coffee and beans are important products.