Puerto Rico

Geography and Climate

The island of Puerto Rico is located in the northern Caribbean Sea, some 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) southeast of Florida. With the Dominican Republic to its west and the British Virgin Islands to its east, the commonwealth comprises the main island of Puerto Rico together with the smaller islands of Culebra and Vieques. On Puerto Rico, coastal plains and hills rise to the peaks of the Cordillera Central mountain range, which runs though the interior of the island. The island is dotted with rivers and lakes, and features a lush rain forest, El Yunque, in the northern plateau region.

Warm Caribbean currents keep Puerto Rico's climate temperate year-round. Temperatures rarely drop below 19C (66F) or rise above 32C (90F). Rain showers are frequent, with the most precipitation falling from May to December. Severe hurricanes can hit the islands between June and November.

Tourist Information

Tourist Information Puerto Rico: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Tourism Company P.O. Box 4435, Old San Juan Station 301 San Justo St. San Juan 00905 tel. 1/809/721-2400 fax 1/809/725-4417 United States: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Tourism Company 575 Fifth Ave. 23rd Floor New York, NY 10017 tel. 1/212/599-6262 fax 1/212/818-1866

DORADO PUERTO RICO

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dorado (do-RAH-do) is a small tourist town in the northern coast of Puerto Rico, 15 miles west of San Juan and is located in the northern region of the island, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, north of Toa Alta, east of Vega Alta, and west of Toa Baja. Dorado is spread over five barrios and Dorado Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). The town is probably best known as a tourist destination with world-class golf courses, hotels, and a beautiful municipal beach.

n the early 1900s the Rockefeller family purchased huge plots of land in the northwest region of the municipality of Dorado where they built a huge private vacation compound. Laurance Rockefeller would later use this land to create Dorado Beach Hotel and Golf Club, which later became the Dorado Beach Hyatt Hotel and Casino and is now the Hyatt Hacienda Del Mar. Dorado Beach Hotel and Cerromar both plan to reopen in 2010.

The Dorado Airport was operated from 1942 to 1996. The airport began as a military landing strip, then became a civilian airport in the 1960s with Caribair and Dorado Wings flights operating until 1980 and 1982 respectively. The airport operated as a private landing strip throughout the 1980s and then fell into disrepair. In 1996, the airport was rezoned as residential land and redeveloped.

Dorado has upscale neighborhoods and a small downtown area with a plaza (Spanish town square), as other Puerto Rican municipalities. The town's patron saint is Anthony of Padua, and patron saint celebrations are held at the plaza every year on June 13.

President Gerald Ford once stayed in Dorado during his presidency, for a 1976 meeting with other heads of state from the Caribbean.

Dorado has been voted Puerto Rico's cleanest town several times throughout its history. for more on Dorado, Puerto Rico, visit Wikipedia.com...