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Barahona
Santa Cruz de Barahona
Villa Miriam
Seal
Barahona
Coordinates: 18°12′N 71°06′W / 18.200°N 71.100°W / 18.200; -71.100
Country	Dominican Republic
Province	Barahona
Municipality since	1858
Founded by	Toussaint L'ouverture
Area
• Total	163.02 km (62.94 sq mi)
Elevation	10 m (30 ft)
Population
• Total	138,159
• Density	850/km (2,200/sq mi)
• Demonym	Barahonero(a)
Municipal Districts	3
Climate	Aw

Barahona, also known as Santa Cruz de Barahona, is the main city of the Barahona Province, in the southwest of the Dominican Republic. It has one of the most active ports in the region, as well as many ecotourism attractions. The city is a centre of sugar production and industry. Barahona is also known for being the only place where the rare Larimar stone can be found.

History

Before its discovery by Europeans, the area belonged to the Native Taino chiefdom of Jaragua, ruled by Bohechío. The current name of the province and city is derived from the surname of the first Spaniards who came to the area, some of these Spaniards were also from the town of Baraona in Spain and named it in honor of their town of origin. The Spaniards spread throughout the territory and designated places with their names. Francisco de Barahona, Gabriel Barahona, Luis de Barahona and Juan de Barahona arrived on the first and second voyages of Christopher Columbus in the 1490s.

After the nation's independence in 1844, Barahona was a military post of the Azua Province. In 1858, Barahona was elevated to the category of municipality. When the province was created in 1881, Barahona was made its head municipality. In 1907, the territorial denominations of cantons and maritime districts were abolished and replaced by the terms communes and provinces, respectively, while Barahona was promoted to this category the same year.

The revolutionary movement known as "El Salvador" was founded in Barahona by Cuban radicals with the purpose of mobilizing financial resources to support the independence movement in Cuba from Spain. Dominican president Ulises Heureaux provided money and weapons to Cuban patriots and from the shores of Barahona, weapons were brought to Cuba.

Between 1916 and 1924, the American presence in the province influenced the planting of cane and the construction of the hacienda. In 1927, the first aviation company of the Caribbean region was started in Barahona. The service was inaugurated between the cities of Barahona, Santa Cruz, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo and Port-au-Prince Haiti.

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, Barahona has a tropical wet and dry climate. Temperatures tend to remain steady throughout the year, with mean temperatures ranging from a low of 24.8 °C (76.6 °F) in January to a high of 28.0 °C (82.4 °F) in July.

In terms of dry and wet seasons, Barahona has two distinctive wet seasons with a peak in precipitation from May to June followed by drought-like conditions in July and August (due to the Azores High being located in the central Atlantic, inhibiting the formation of clouds and rain) and another peak in precipitation from September to October. This precipitation pattern is due to the movement and the position of the Azores high throughout the year. The dry season mainly runs through December to April. Even in the drier months, precipitation can still occur with February receiving just under 30 mm (1.2 in). Sunshine is abundant throughout the year, averaging over 3200 hours.

Economy

Barahona has a diversified economy that combines agriculture, mining and tourism, with an industrial port and a free zone dedicated to textile production. Among the most important companies in the area are: CEMEX Dominicana that exploits gypsum from a mine, Rica with dairy production, the "Consorcio Azucarero Central" with sugar production, EGE Haina with electricity production, Wilbes Dominicana with areas of free trade and "Block Khoury" which produces and exports construction materials.

Agriculture and the production of cane, bananas, coffee, fruits, sorghum, yams, yautia and others. The main product in the municipality is a very good coffee ("Barahona Type Coffee"), grown in the mountains of Eastern Bahoruco. In livestock, the fattening of cattle and goats for meat, sale of leather and the growing milk production predominate, in mining the extraction of larimar, marble, plaster, alabaster, kaolin (for the production of bottles), mineral salt and construction materials, are among the main activities of Barahona.

Downtown Barahona

Transport

The city of Barahona has a sea port, which receives many ferries from different points in the Caribbean, and an airport, which has been reactivated with many flights a week to Punta Cana via Santo Domingo. Authorities provided the airport with a fuel station park, allowing facilities to the airliners that could operate in the airport in the future. The airport is the well known María Montez International Airport located about 10 minutes from the city center. The port is located about 5 minutes away from the city center.

Notable natives and residents

• Julio Lugo, shortstop for the Boston Red Sox
• Ruddy Lugo, relief pitcher for the Oakland Athletics
• Maria Montez, actress
• David Thomatis, Italo-Australian agriculturalist
• Ludo Vika, actress/comedian
• Edinson Vólquez, pitcher for the Kansas City Royals

References

1. Superficies a nivel de municipios, Oficina Nacional de Estadistica Archived April 17, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
2. De la Fuente, Santiago (1976). Geografía Dominicana (in Spanish). Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Editora Colegial Quisqueyana.
3. Censo 2012 de Población y Vivienda, Oficina Nacional de Estadistica
4. López Reyes, Oscar (1999). Historia del desarrollo de Barahona: Narración e interpretación (in Spanish). Santo Domingo: Mediabyte.
5. Nacional, El (2022-09-24). "Conoce el origen de tu pueblo: Barahona". El Nacional (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-05-02.
6. Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L. & McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen–Geiger climate classification" (PDF). Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11: 1633–1644. doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007. ISSN 1027-5606.
7. "Barahona Climate Normals for 1991-2020" (CSV). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
8. "World Weather Information Service - Barahona". World Meteorological Organization. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
9. "Climate Normals for Barahona 1961-1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved February 23, 2013.

v t e Provincial capitals of the Dominican Republic
Azua Baní Barahona Bonao Comendador Cotuí Dajabón El Seibo Hato Mayor Higüey Jimaní La Romana La Vega Mao Moca Monte Cristi Monte Plata Nagua Neiba Pedernales Puerto Plata Sabaneta Salcedo Samaná San Cristóbal San Francisco de Macorís San José de Ocoa San Juan de la Maguana San Pedro de Macorís Santiago de los Caballeros Santo Domingo Santo Domingo Este

• Populated places in Barahona Province
• Municipalities of the Dominican Republic
• 1802 establishments in the Spanish Empire
• Populated places established in 1802