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Geographical Location
Puerto
Rico is a Caribbean, island located between the Caribbean Sea and the
North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic
The
city of Isabela is located on the northwestern most tip of Puerto Rico.
The taino indian chief Mabodamaca, one of the most important chieftains of
the Island of Boriken (Taino name for the island of Puerto Rico) during
the 18th century, ruled the region of the 'Guajataca' (Taino name for
the northeastern region of Puerto Rico) where Isabela was originally
founded. Although the actual date of the origins  of the first spanish
settlement is not precisely known, a small settlement/hermitage is
known to have existed by the end of the 17th century or beginning of
the 18th century in a great extension of land into what encompass today
the municipalities of Isabela, Camuy and Quebradillas. The settlement
bordered to the east with the shoreline of the Guajataca River and it
was located on the grounds of an earlier Taino settlement.
According
to documented history, around 1725, José Antonio de
Mendizábal y Azares (Governor of the island of Puerto Rico)
granted authorization to base a population on the existing
hermitage/village. Its given name, San Antonio de La Tuna, derives from
the avocation of the spanish settlers to the saint San Antonio de Padua
and in honor of a wild cactus growing in the region (Tuna is the
Spanish name for cactus). At the end of the eighteenth century San
Antonio de la Tuna had a church, more than sixty houses and almost
1,200 inhabitants, which was a considerable population for those times.
At present, the 2000 U.S. Census reveals it has a population of 44,444
souls.
Relocation
Prompted by economic and health
factors, the decision to relocate the hermitage to a more favorable
location was pursued. Around 1818, the village obtained authorization
from then Governor Salvador Meléndez to transfer the population
to a new location closer to the coast . The new community would be
named Isabela in honor of Queen Isabel of Castile. Meléndez
approved the transfer request and a new town was founded the following
year May 21, 1819. In this same year the construction of the church
began, which finished in 1824. In 1918 the church was damaged during a
strong earthquake that affected the western region of the island, it
was rebuilt soon after.
Driving time from Luis Munoz
Marin International Airpo rt, in San Juan, to Isabela is between 1.5 to
2 hours, depending on the day of the week and time. It's less than an
hour's ride from the smaller Rafael Hernandez Airport, in Aguadilla. It
borders with the Atlantic Ocean to the North, San Sebastián to
the South, Quebradillas to the East, and Aguadilla and Moca to the West.
It
has 14 wards (the equivalent of counties): Arenales Alto, Arenales
Bajo, Bajuras, Bejuco, Coto, Galateo Alto, Galateo Bajo, Guayabos,
Guerrero, Jobos, Llanadas, Mora, and Pueblo.
Topography
It could be said that Isabela is a
hybrid town of sorts, with the rarity of being a coastline city that
has beaches but is also known for its mountains (with peaks of over
1000ft
above sea level), rivers (surface and submarine), lake, caves
(surface and submarine), cliffs, coastal flats and forests (Tropical
and Mangroves).
Geographically, the municipality of Isabela
belongs to the Northern Coastal Plains.
Running through the south, the
Aymamón mountains, a prolongation of the Jaicoa Mountain Range
that begins in the neighboring town of Aguadilla, boasts peaks of over
1000ft above sea level. The most prominent hills that are part of these
mountains are La Bandera (Galateo Alto ward)) at 368 meters (1,207
feet); La Silla (Arenales Alto ward) at 337 meters (1,106 feet); El
Sombrero (in Galateo Alto) at 330 meters (1,083 feet); Indio (Planas
ward)) at 310 meters (1,017 feet); and Monte Encantado (in Arenales
Altos) at 280 meters (919 feet) of elevation above sea level. The
central part of the territory, which consists mostly of flatlands, the
mountains does not surpass 200 meters (656 feet) of height; the
coastline flats (Bajuras), is slightly above sea level.
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