Puyaka Noticias: 2011

Mogotes are geomorphologic structures encountered in the Caribbean, especially in Cuba. They appear as hills of limestone which generally occur in regions of tropical or subtropical rainfall.

Mogotes are characterized by their rounded, tower-like structure. The heights of these towers are generally less than 25 m (82 ft); diameters range from 10 to 200 m (33 to 660 ft). The structure forms are elongated with a pronounced, long vertical axis orientation. They have a classification of tropical cone and tower karsts.

Mogotes are remnants of eroded limestone sedimentary layers. These layers are originally formed in shallow waters, then folded and faulted during orogenic cycles.Tectonic upraising exposes the limestone layers to the surface where they can be eroded by rainfall, wind, and wave energy.

Samaná (Spanish pronunciation: [samaˈna]) is a province of the Dominican Republic. Its capital is Santa Bárbara de Samaná, usually known as Samaná.

Samaná is located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in the northeastern part of the Dominican Republic. It is known for its mountains of which it is almost entirely formed. Samaná has numerous beaches, and with the 6 November 2006 opening of the new Samaná El Catey International Airport, it is bound to become one of major tourist destinations in the Dominican Republic.^[1]

It was discovered on January 12, 1493 by Christopher Columbus who was greeted with a barrage of spears and arrows from native Taíno warriors. It is said that this was the first instance of violent opposition to the Spanish conquistadors in the Americas.

Samaná is considered one of the most beautiful areas of the Dominican Republic, yet remains one of the least known by Dominican natives in general and foreign visitors in particular. Its tourist industry has not yet exploited the full potential of its location: the tropical forests, coconut groves, hundreds of cozy alcove beaches with turquoise crystal clear waters, waterfalls, protected national parks, a protected bay, a peninsula.

Samaná is one of the breeding places of the humpback whale. Thousands of humpback whales come to the coast off Samaná from January to March.

At one time proposed to be the capital of the country, Samaná was to be sold to the United States as a military base during Pedro Santana's presidency, but the deal was never realized, because the United States felt that the cost was too much.

A highway connecting the Samaná peninsula to Santo Domingo is finally opened to the public in 2008. It halved the driving time from 4 hours to 1.5 hours as it is a straight 120 kilometres (75 mi), connecting from just east of Santo Domingo (near the SDQ airport) to just west of Sanchez. There is a significant tourist development evident throughout the Samaná peninsula, particularly that of large all-inclusive resorts, in anticipation of the increased tourism to follow the road's completion.

Municipalities and municipal districts

Municipalities of the Province.

The province as of June 20, 2006 is divided into the following municipalities (municipios) and municipal districts (distrito municipal - D.M.) within them:^[2]

Sánchez
Samaná
- Arroyo Barril (D.M.)
- El Limón (D.M.)
- Las Galeras (D.M.)
Las Terrenas

Cayo Levantado Samana, an island of the Samaná Province

The following is a sortable table of the municipalities with population figures as of an estimate on the 2010 census. Urban population are those living in the seats (cabeceras literally heads) of municipalities or of municipal districts. Rural population are those living in the districts (Secciones literally sections) and neighborhoods(Parajes literally places) outside of them.^[3] For comparison with the municipalities and municipal districts of other provinces see the list of municipalities and municipal districts of the Dominican Republic.