La Romana, Dominican Republic

La Romana is a Dominican city along the Caribbean Sea, in the southeastern part of the country. It is the head municipality of the La Romana province. The town was built on the right (western) side of the mouth of the river Dulce (now also called Romana). Population The municipality had, in 2014, a total population of 130,426: 63,261 men and 67,165 women. The urban population was 97.9% of the total population, one of the most urban municipality in the country. Geography La Romana is in the region known as Llano Costero del Caribe (in English, "Caribbean Coastal Plain"), with only few low hills and many savannas. The small islands of Catalina and Saona are part of this municipality but nobody lives in Catalina. The municipality has a total area of 276.36 km2 (106.7 sq mi). It has only one municipal district (a subdivision of a municipality): Caleta. La Romana has the municipality of Guaymate to the north, the La Altagracia province to the east, the Caribbean Sea to the south and the Villa Hermosa municipality to the west. The altitude of the city of La Romana is 10 m (33 ft) above sea level. The city is at 210 km (130 mi) to the east of Santo Domingo and at 35 km (22 mi) of Higüey. Climate La Romana has a tropical wet and dry/ savanna climate (Köppen climate classification : Aw) with a pronounced dry season in winter. The average amount of rainfall for the year in the city is 872.5 mm (34.4 in). The month with the most precipitation on average is October with 164.6 mm (6.5 in) of rainfall, followed by September with 116.8 mm (4.6 in). The driest season is winter. The month with the least rainfall on average is March with an average of 27.5 mm (1.1 in) and the second is February with 27.8 mm (1.1 in). La Romana is in a warm region; the average temperature for the year is 26.3 °C (79 °F). The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of 27.95 °C (82.3 °F). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 24.6 °C (76.28 °F). Administrative division The municipality of La Romana has only one municipal district: Economy The most important company in La Romana is the Central Romana that produces sugar. This factory was built in 1917 by the South Puerto Rico Sugar Company. There is also here an important Free Trade Zone, a place where there are different companies that made different products to send to other countries and do not pay taxes in the Dominican Republic. The La Romana International Airport is very near the city and there are several important tourist places such as : Casa de Campo and Alto de Chavón. Sugarcane is an important crop in the municipality and also cattle raising. References