Puerto RicoPuerto Rico is an island.
It’s rectangular in shape. It’s coasts measureapproximately 580 kilometers. It is the smallest and most eastern island of theGreater Antilles. Puerto Rico has many Mountains; they cover 60% of the island. The territory also consists of a large amount of rain forests, deserts, beaches,caves, oceans and rivers. A few of the largest mountains in Puerto Rico are, theCerro La Punta (4,389) Rosas (4,156), and Guilarte (3,952).
Many of therainforest that covered the island has vanished. The 28,00 acres that are leftremain at El Yunque peak. Locations of mountains- This is the Carribean nationalForrest. In this Forrest you can find many varieties of plant and animal life.
Locations of rainforests- Also some very important caves of the west hemisphereare in Puerto Rico. For example the Rio Camuy. Within it are fine examples ofstalactites, stalagmites, and plenty of bats. Due to the fact that Puerto Ricois a relatively short in whidth, it does not have any large bodies of water likerivers and lakes.
However it is surrounded by water so that’s not really aproblem. There is also a very large amount of rainfall due to the rainforests. Puerto Rico’s natural resources consist of some stone, fish, copper andnickel, and there is a potential for on and off-shore crude oil. The weather isregularly warm with an average temperature of 80 degrees F. The north coast getstwice as much rain as the south coast.
The dry season is December to March. Puerto Rico is very exposed to the cyclones of the Caribbean. Not as bad howeveras Jamaica, Cuba, and other Lesser Antilles. Hurricanes frequently occur betweenAugust and October. The most destructive hurricane in Purto Rico’s history wasSan Ciriaco.
It occurred on August 8, 1899. History Puerto Rico’s firstinhabitants were the Taino Indians. They first called the island Boriken orBoriquen. The name means “the great land of the valiant and noble Lord”.
Theisland was first discovered by the Spanish in 1493. It went through manychanges. The Indians were pushed aside and made slaves for the new settlers. Slaves were shipped in from Spain as well. Hundreds if Indians died fromdisease.
Many Spanish men married Indian women. The island colony suffered forhundreds of years from hurricanes and plagues. After about 1850, the desire forgreater freedom from Spain increased among the people of Puerto Rico. As aresult of this a new form of government was set up in 1898. Puerto Rico wastaken over by America.
It became a part of the United States on December 10,1898. Being a part of the U. S. helped the Puerto Rican society a lot.
They builthospitals, dams, roads, and schools. In 1917 the second Organic Act gave PuertoRicans the ability to become U. S. citizens. The U. S.
Army’s 65th InfantryRegiment won fame for their courage and daring. This regiment was made up of allPuerto Ricans. The government of Puerto Rico is run by the United Statescongress. Most federal laws apply to Puerto Rico. The Common wealth governmentis operated under its own constitution.
The governer is chief executive officerand is pretty much in charge. Voters elect 2 senators and 1 representitive. Thesupreme Court is the highest court in Puerto Rico. It has 7 justices appointedby the govenor. They my serve as long as they want, as long as its not pastretirement age.
The 92 superior court judges are appointed to 12 year terms. Cases involving federal law are heard in the U. S. District Court of Puerto Rico.
It has 7 judges appointed by the President of the United States. Culture PuertoRico is a very crowded island it is populated by about 3,522,037 people. Thecapital is San Juan. San Juan is also the largest city. Other large cities ofPuerto Rico are, Carolina, and Mayaguez. Puerto Rico is a great place to go andsee spainish culture.
The food is a lot like Spanish and Mexican food. Butcertain spices make some things more Puerto Rican. Puerto Rico has manydifferent types of music, as well as the United States. But it is most know forits Salsa. Many think it as a sauce to dip chips in. However in Puerto Rico itis a very commonly listened to music.
And with Salsa music comes “TheSalsa”. The salsa is a Latin dance where a man and woman partner up and swingthere hips in sync with the beat of the song. Another well known dance used inPuerto Rico is the Meringue. It is a faster salsa. In this dance, a partner isnot needed as much.
Two well known Latin singers in America are Jennifer Lopezand Rikki Martin. In Puerto Rico the style is very similar to that of the U. S. Some of the tastes vary, but pretty similar. Religion The majority of people inPuerto Rico are Roman Catholic. Most of the rest are Protestants.
Some practicevoodoo as well. Industry Puerto Rico’s most valueble agricultural product areMilk, poultry and eggs. Farmers also raise beef cattle. They also sell or trademany other products. They have two very important fruits that they produce.
Theyare Bananas and plantains. Plantains are a lot like bananas. Puerto Rico alsohas mines from which they produce stone, sand and gravel, and lime. Puerto Ricois an island so naturally they have a fishing industry.
Their annual fish catchis valued at $9 million. About 4 ? million lbs. Of fish are caught yearly. Themost valueble catch for Puerto Rico is lobster. Puerto Rico and the U.
S. tradewith each other very often. It is much like the trade between the actual statesand the U. S.
Puerto Ricans do not pay customs duties on goods imported from theUnited States, as they do on other imported goods. Puerto Rico’s chief importsinclude crude petroleum, food products, textiles and plastic products.
