Samaná (town)
| Samaná | |
|---|---|
| Santa Bárbara de Samaná | |
| Samaná neighborhood (2011)
Samaná neighborhood (2011)
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 Samaná
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| Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | |
| Country | Dominican Republic |
| Province | Samaná |
| Founded | 1756 |
| Municipality since | 1865 |
| Area[1] | |
| • Total | 412.11 km2 (159.12 sq mi) |
| Elevation[2] | 5 m (16 ft) |
| Population (2012)[3] | |
| • Total | 108,179 |
| • Density | 260/km2 (680/sq mi) |
| • Demonym | Samanés |
| Municipalities | 3 |
Samaná (old spelling: Xamaná), in full Santa Bárbara de Samaná, is a town and municipality in northeastern Dominican Republic and is the capital of Samaná Province. It is located on the northern coast of Samaná Bay. The town is an important tourism destination and is the main center for whale-watching tours in the Caribbean region.[4]
Contents
Geography
Samaná is located in a small plain close to the coast but, now, most of the town is in the hills that enclose the plain.
It is the largest municipality of the province. It has a total area of 412.11 km² (almost 49% of the total area of the province), including the three municipal districts that are part of the municipality.
Most of the territory is occupied by the Sierra de Samaná, a short mountain range with steep slopes but no high mountains. The highest mountain is Monte Mesa (605 m).[2]
Population
The demonym for the inhabitants of Samaná, both the city and the province, is Samanés (men and women). It is also possible to use Samanense.
History
The town of Santa Barbara of Samaná sits on the Samaná Peninsula which came into written history on 13 January 1493, when Christopher Columbus made his last stop of his first voyage to the New World. He landed on what today is known as the Rincon Beach, where he met the hostile Ciguayos who presented him with his only violent resistance during this visit to the Americas. The Ciguayos had refused to trade their bows and arrows that Columbus's pathfinders desired. In the ensuing violence, two were stabbed to death. Because of this and because of the Ciguayos' use of arrows, he called the inlet where he met them the Bay of Arrows (or Gulf of Arrows). Today, the place is called the Bay of Rincón, in Samaná, the Dominican Republic. Columbus kidnapped about 10 to 25 natives and took them back with him (only seven or eight of the native Indians arrived in Spain alive, but they made quite an impression on Seville). The city was founded in 1756 as Santa Bárbara de Samaná during the colonial period by the Spanish governor Francisco Rubio y Peñaranda. Families from the Canary Islands were brought to live in this city and Sabana de la Mar.
It was named Santa Bárbara after the Queen Bárbara de Braganza, wife of King Ferdinand VI of Spain. In 1824, the Turtle Dove, a sailing vessel, was blown ashore at Samaná. Dozens of American Slaves from the Freemen Sisters' underground railroad escaped to these shores. They settled in Samaná, and today, their descendants still live on that island.
With the creation of the Samaná Maritime District (an old division similar to a province) in 1865, the city was elevated to the category of municipality.
Economy
The main economic activities of the municipality are tourism, agriculture and fishing.
The largest boost to local economy takes place in Jan-March with the annual migration of thousands of North Atlantic humpback whales that come to the Samaná Bay to give birth. Samaná is the center of the country's tourism during these months.
Climate
The mean annual rainfall in Samaná is 2,349.8 mm and the mean annual temperature is 26.5°C.
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record high °C (°F) | 33.0 (91.4) |
34.0 (93.2) |
36.0 (96.8) |
36.0 (96.8) |
35.2 (95.4) |
37.0 (98.6) |
39.2 (102.6) |
37.0 (98.6) |
37.0 (98.6) |
38.5 (101.3) |
36.0 (96.8) |
35.0 (95) |
39.2 (102.6) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 29.2 (84.6) |
29.5 (85.1) |
30.2 (86.4) |
30.7 (87.3) |
31.5 (88.7) |
32.5 (90.5) |
32.6 (90.7) |
32.7 (90.9) |
32.6 (90.7) |
32.2 (90) |
30.6 (87.1) |
29.6 (85.3) |
31.2 (88.2) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 19.1 (66.4) |
19.3 (66.7) |
19.9 (67.8) |
20.6 (69.1) |
21.8 (71.2) |
22.8 (73) |
23.1 (73.6) |
23.0 (73.4) |
22.7 (72.9) |
22.2 (72) |
20.6 (69.1) |
19.6 (67.3) |
21.2 (70.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 15.0 (59) |
15.0 (59) |
14.5 (58.1) |
16.0 (60.8) |
16.0 (60.8) |
19.0 (66.2) |
19.0 (66.2) |
19.0 (66.2) |
19.0 (66.2) |
18.5 (65.3) |
17.0 (62.6) |
15.5 (59.9) |
14.5 (58.1) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 145.7 (5.736) |
109.5 (4.311) |
116.6 (4.591) |
141.8 (5.583) |
231.5 (9.114) |
152.2 (5.992) |
185.1 (7.287) |
229.2 (9.024) |
193.3 (7.61) |
246.9 (9.72) |
257.2 (10.126) |
202.9 (7.988) |
2,211.9 (87.083) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 15.6 | 11.7 | 10.5 | 9.9 | 15.0 | 13.7 | 16.7 | 17.7 | 15.7 | 17.2 | 18.5 | 17.6 | 179.8 |
| Source: NOAA[5] | |||||||||||||
Notable people
- Manny Albam, jazz saxophonist
- Wily Peralta, baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers
- Hanley Ramírez, baseball left fielder for the Boston Red Sox.
- Fernando Rodney, baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners.
- Yordano Ventura, baseball pitcher for the Kansas City Royals.
- Théodore Chassériau, a French painter, was born in El Limón in 1819.
References
- ↑ Superficies a nivel de municipios, Oficina Nacional de Estadistica
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Censo 2012 de Población y Vivienda, Oficina Nacional de Estadistica
- ↑ http://www.footprinttravelguides.com/latin-america/caribbean-islands/essentials/sport-and-activities/whale-and-dolphin-watching/
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
Media related to Samaná at Wikimedia Commons- Genealogy of the families of Samaná, history from Samaná
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