Samaná Province

Infobox Province Dominican Republic
Name = Samaná


coat-of-arms = COA Of Samaná.jpg


demonym = Samanenses
established_date = 1867
Capital = Santa Bárbara de Samaná
capital_population = 157,252 [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/520224/Samana Samaná - Britannica Online Encyclopedia ] ]
capital_coor = 19_13_N_69_19_W_ 19° 13′ S 69° 19′ O
largest city = Santa Bárbara de Samaná
largest city population = 157,252
Area = 853.74
area_rank = 26
area_percentage = 1.8
Population = 241,104
population_rank = 20
population_date = 2008
governor = Elsa de Leon
population_percentage = 1.1
Density = 107.6
ISO = 20
deputies = 2
municipalities = 3
districts = 3
website = http://www.samana.net/

Samaná is a province of the Dominican Republic. Its capital is Santa Bárbara de Samaná, also known as Samaná City.

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. [http://www.playa-jackson.com/samana-news-information-las-terrenas/el-catey-samana-international-airport-dominican-republic/ Article about El Catey International Airport, Samaná, already handling flights] ]

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.Fact|date=March 2007

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.Fact|date=March 2007

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.Fact|date=March 2007

A highway connecting the Samaná peninsula to Santo Domingo is rumored to finally open to the public this summer, 2008. This is expected to halve the driving time from 4 hours to 1.5 hours as it is a straight 120km, connecting from just east of Santo Domingo (near the SDQ airport) to just west of Sanchez. There is significant tourist development evident throughout the Samaná peninsula, particularly that of large all-inclusive resorts, in anticipation of the increased tourism to follow the roads completion.

Municipalities and municipal districts

The province as of June 20 2006 is divided into the following municipalities ("municipios") and municipal districts ("distrito municipal" - D.M.) within them: [cite web |url=http://www.one.gob.do/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=113|title=Listado de Codigos de Provincias, Municipio y Distritos Municipales, Actualizada a Junio 20 del 2006|author=Oficina Nacional de Estadistica, Departamento de Cartografia, Division de Limites y Linderos|language=Spanish|accessdate=2007-01-24]
*Sánchez
*Samana
**Arroyo Barril (D.M.)
**El Limón (D.M.)
**Las Galeras (D.M.)
*Las Terrenas

The following is a sortable table of the municipalities with population figures as of the 2008 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. [cite web |url=http://one.gob.do/censo/volumen_I_pdf.zip
format = PDF|title=VIII Censo 2002 Poplación y Vivienda|author=Oficina Nacional de Estadística|language=Spanish|accessdate=2007-01-24]

For comparison with the municipalities and municipal districts of other provinces see the list of municipalities and municipal districts of the Dominican Republic.

ee also

*Samana Bay
*Samaná English

References

External links

* [http://www.samana.net/storage2005/samana_peninsula_airports-map.gifMap showing Cape Samana with the location of its airports]
* [http://www.one.gob.do/ Oficina Nacional de Estadística, Statistics Portal of the Dominican Republic]
* [http://www.one.gob.do/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=114 Oficina Nacional de Estadística, Maps with administrative division of the provinces of the Dominican Republic] , downloadable in PDF format