Dajabón Province

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Dajabón
Massacre river runs through Loma de Cabrera in Dajabon, Dominican Republic.
Massacre river runs through Loma de Cabrera in Dajabon, Dominican Republic.
Coat of arms of Dajabón
Location of the Dajabón Province
Location of the Dajabón Province
Country Dominican Republic
Province since1938
Government
 • TypeSubdivisions
 • Body5 municipalities
4 municipal districts
 • Congresspersons1 Senator
2 Deputies
Area
 • Total1,020.73 km2 (394.11 sq mi)
Population
 (2014)
 • Total87,274
 • Density86/km2 (220/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-4 (EST)
Area code1-809 1-829 1-849
ISO 3166-2DO-05
Postal Code63000

Dajabón is a Dominican province; it is in the northwestern part of the country, on the border with Haiti. Its capital city has the same name, Dajabón.

It was created on 1938 with the name Province Libertador. It got its present name in 1961. It was part of the Monte Cristi province before being elevated to the category of province

Name[change | change source]

The province takes the name from the Taíno name of the region, Dahaboon; it was also the name of the main river of the region, the Dajabón River.[1]

Location[change | change source]

Dajabón is bordered to the north by the Monte Cristi province, to the east by the Santiago Rodríguez province and to the south by the Elías Piña province. To the west Dajabón borders the Republic of Haiti.

History[change | change source]

For a very long time, very few people lived in this region because it was on the border between two countries: first, between the French colony of Saint-Domingue and the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo and later between the two independent countries of Haiti and Dominican Republic. There were many fights here between the armies of the two parts of the island and some important battles were held close to the city of Dajabón during the Dominican Independence War.

In 1861, the Dominican Republic became again a colony of Spain. The Restoration War, or just the Restoration, started on 16 August 1863, in a hill near the hamlet of Capotillo. The Spanish army left the country in 1865.

After the Restoration, people came to live in this area and several towns were created.

When the province was created in 1938, it had three municipalities: Dajabón, Loma de Cabrera and Restauración. In 1996, Partido was made a municipality and later, in 2002, El Pino became another municipality.[2]

The municipal districts of the province were created in:[2]

  • 2002 : Manuel Bueno
  • 2005 : Cañongo and Capotillo
  • 2006 : Santiago de la Cruz

Population[change | change source]

In 2014 (last national census), there were 87,274 people living in the Dajabón province, and 38,225 (43.8%) living in towns and cities. The population density was 85.5 persons/km².[3]

Its population represents 0.92% of the total population of the country and the province is ranked as the 14th (out of 31 plus the National District) more populated province.

As of 2016, the total estimated propulation of the province is 65,519 inhabitants.[4]

The largest city of the province is Dajabón, its head municipality or capital, with a population (in 2010) of 25,245 inhabitants.[3]

Geography[change | change source]

Landscape around the city of Dajabón

The Dajabón province has a total area of 1,021.3 km2 (394.3 sq mi).[3] It has 2.1% of the area of the Dominican Republic and it is ranked as the 23rd (out of 31 plus the National District) largest province. The altitude of the city of Dajabón, provincial capital, is 47 m (154 ft).[5]

The Cordillera Central ("Central mountain chain") is in the southern part ofthe province. The northern part is flat, with many savannas; it is part of the Yaque del Norte Valley (or Línea Noroeste).

There are two main roads in the province. One, from north to south, comes from the Monte Cristi province and goes through the cities of Dajabón, Loma de Cabrera and Restauración and then goes into the Elías Piña province. In some parts, the road marks the border with Haiti.

The second main road begins in Santiago de la Cruz and goes to the east through Partido and El Pino and then through the Santiago Rodríguez and Valverde provinces to end in the Carretera Duarte (Duarte National Road), one of the most important road of the country and that goes from Santo Domingo to Monte Cristi.

Rivers[change | change source]

The only important river in the province is the Dajabón River, also known as Masacre (from French Massacre). This river marks the Dominican-Haitian border from the city of Dajabón to its mouth. Other rivers are very short and they are tributaries of the Dajabon or the Artibonite rivers.

Climate[change | change source]

The climate of the province is a tropical climate, hot most of the year, but it is cooler on the mountains..

Municipalities[change | change source]

There are 5 municipalities and 4 municipal districts (M.D.) in the province.[2] The municipalities and its municipal districts (M.D.) are:

Municipalities of the Dajabón province
Municipality (code) Municipal Districts (code) Population
(2010)
Area
(km2)
Density Altitude
(m)
Dajabón (050101) 25,245 220.8 114.3 38
Cañongo (050102) 2,826 40.2 70.3 23
Dajabón (050100) 28,071 261.0 107.6
Loma de Cabrera (050201) 10,893 140.0 77.8 206
Capotillo (050202) 2,112 57.1 37.0 200
Santiago de la Cruz (050203) 2,619 48.9 53.6 280
Loma de Cabrera (050200) 15,624 246.0 63.5
Partido (050301) 6,951 149.8 46.4 198
Partido (050300) 6,951 149.8 46.4
Restauración (050401) 7,274 276.6 26.3 664
Restauración (050400) 7,274 276.6 26.3
El Pino (050501) 4,236 43.9 96.5 214
Manuel Bueno (050502) 1,799 44.0 40.9 309
El Pino (050500) 6,035 87.9 68.7
Dajabón province (050000) 63,955 1,021.3 62.6

Economy[change | change source]

As in all provinces on the Dominican Republic-Haiti border, there is little economic development. The trade with Haiti is very important, mostly in the city of Dajabón.

On the mountains, coffee and beans are important products. Rice and bananas are produced in the northern part of the province, and cattle raising is important around the city of Dajabón.

Related pages[change | change source]

References[change | change source]

  1. Rodríguez, Cayetano Armando (1976). Geografía de la Isla de Santo Domingo y Reseña de las Demás Antillas, Second Edition (in Spanish). Santo Domingo: Sociedad Dominicana de Geografía, Vol. XI. p. 399.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "División Territorial 2015" (in Spanish). Oficina Nacional de Estadística (ONE). October 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Consejo Nacional de Población y Familia. "Estamaciones y Proyecciones de la Población Dominicana por Regiones, Provincias, Municipios y Distritos Municipales, 2014" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 2014-02-02.
  4. "REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA: Población por año calendario, según sexo y grupos quinquenales de edad, 2015-2020" (in Spanish). Oficina Nacional de Estadística (ONE). Archived from the original (XLS) on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  5. l "Dajabón". Geonames.org. Retrieved 3 October 2016. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)