Espaillat Province
| Espaillat | |
| Province | |
| Country |  Dominican Republic |
|---|---|
| Capital | Moca |
| - elevation | 183 m (600 ft) |
| - coordinates | 19°23′0″N 70°31′0″W / 19.383333°N 70.516667°W |
| Highest point | El Mogote |
| - elevation | 970 m (3,182 ft) |
| Lowest point | northern coast |
| - elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Area | 838.62 km² (324 sq mi) |
| Population | 231,938 (2010) |
| Density | 276.6 /km² (716 /sq mi) |
| Province since | 1885 |
| Subdivisions | 4 municipalities 11 municipal districts |
| Congresspersons | 1 Senator 5 Deputies |
| Timezone | AST (UTC-4) |
| Area code | 1-809 1-829 1-849 |
| ISO 3166-2 | DO-09 |
 Location of the Espaillat Province
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Espaillat is a province in the Dominican Republic. It is in the Cibao region, in the central part of the country. Its capital city is Moca.
The province was created on 1885. It was part of the La Vega province until it was made a province.
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Location[change]
Espaillat is bordered to the east by the province of Hermanas Mirabal, to the south by La Vega, to the west by the Santiago and Puerto Plata provinces. The María Trinidad Sánchez province is to the northwest of the Espaillat province and the Atlantic Ocean is to the north.
Origin of name[change]
The province was named after Ulises Francisco Espaillat who was President of the Dominican Republic for a short period of time (April 1876 - October 1876).
History[change]
The Espaillat province has had many changes in its area. Before 1885, when the province was made, the southern part of the present province was part of La Vega province and the northern part was of the Puerto Plata province.
When the province was made in 1885, it had the land of the present provinces of Hermanas Mirabal, Duarte and María Trinidad Sánchez provinces and the southern part of the present Espaillat province. But when the Duarte province was made in 1896, the Espaillat province lost most of the land east of the Hermanas Mirabal province; in 1945, the land north of the Cordillera Septentrional was added to the Espaillat province.
In 1952, the Hermanas Mirabal province was made and the Espaillat province kept the land that it has now, with some parts to the south of the Cordillera Septentrional and other parts to the north of it.
Population[change]
In 2010 (last national census), there were 231,938 people living in the Espaillat province, and just 105,187 (45.35%) living in towns and cities. The population density was 277 persons/km², one of the highest in the country.[1]
Its population represents 2.5% of the total population of the country and the province is ranked as the 12th (out of 31 plus the National District) more populated province.
The largest city of the province is Moca, its head municipality or capital, with a population (in 2010) of 94,981 inhabitants.[1]
Geography[change]
The Espaillat province has a total area of 838.62 km².[2] It has 1.7% of the area of the Dominican Republic and it is one of the smallest provinces in the country, ranked as the 27th (out of 31 plus the National District) largest province.
There are three geographic regions in the province. They are, from north to south: the Atlantic coastal plains close to the Atlantic Ocean, the Cordillera Septentrional and the Cibao Valley.
Three main roads go through this province. One goes along the Atlantic coast;it goes from Puerto Plata to Samaná.
A second road comes from the south, from La Vega province and, when it gets to Moca, turns to the west to Santiago de los Caballeros. This is the old Carretera Duarte (Duarte National Road) but from Concepción de la Vega to Santiago de los Caballeros the "Duarte Highway" is used by most people, without going through Moca.
The third road begins in Moca and goes to the provinces to the east.
Mountains[change]
The Cordillera Septentrional ("Northern mountain chain") is in the north central part of the province but the mountains here are not very high. The highest mountain in the province is the El Mogote at 970 metres above sea level.[3]
Rivers[change]
There are only short rivers in the province. The most important river that flows into the Atlantic Ocean, and the longest of the province, is the Yásica river; it forms the limit with the Puerto Plata province. Other important rivers that flow to the north are the Jamao and Veragua rivers which are tributaries of the Yásica river.
In the southern part of the province, the rivers are very short and most of them are tributaries of the Licey river (a tributary of the Yuna river). Besides the Licey river, other rivers are Moca and Bacuí.
Climate[change]
The climate of the province is a tropical climate, hot most of the year, but it is cooler on the mountains.
Municipalities[change]
There are four municipalities and eleven municipal districts in the province.[4] Municipal districts are similar to municipalities but they depend on a municipality.
The municipalities and its municipal districts (M.D.) are:
- Moca, head municipality and largest city of the province
- Canca la Reina (M.D.)
- El Higüerito (M.D.)
- José Contreras (M.D.)
- Juan López (M.D.)
- La Ortega (M.D.)
- Las Lagunas (M.D.)
- Monte de la Jagua (M.D.)
- San Víctor (M.D.)
- Cayetano Germosén
- Gaspar Hernández
- Joba (M.D.)
- Vegragua (M.D.)
- Villa Magante (M.D.)
- Jamao al Norte
Economy[change]
The main economic activity of the province is agriculture and the main products are plantain, cassava, coffee and cacao.
Tourism is a very important activity on the Atlantic coast, with many hotels in the region.
References[change]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Oficina Nacional de Estadística. "IX Censo Nacional de Población y Vivienda. Informe Básico" (in Spanish) (PDF). http://censo2010.one.gob.do/resultados/Resumen_resultados_generales_censo_2010.pdf. Retrieved 2013-1-29.
- ↑ Listado de Códigos de Provincias, Municipio y Distritos Municipales, Oficina Nacional de Estadistica
- ↑ Núñez Molina, Luis N. (1972) (in Spanish). El Territorio Dominicano. Santo Domingo, República Dominicana: Julio D. Postigo C. por A..
- ↑ Oficina Nacional de Estadística. "División Territorial 2008" (in Spanish) (PDF). http://www.one.gob.do/index.php?module=uploads&func=download&fileId=1098. Retrieved 2009-10-01.
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