La Altagracia Province

La Altagracia is the easternmost province of the Dominican Republic. It was created on 1961 and its capital city is Higüey.

Location 
To the north and east of the province is the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and to the south is the Caribbean Sea, with the Mona Passage (a strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Caribbean Sea) to the southeast. The province is bordered to the west by La Romana and El Seibo provinces.

History
The region of the province was part of the El Seibo until 1944 when it was made part of the new province of La Romana. In 27 February 1961, the La Romana province was split in two provinces: La Romana and La Altagracia.

The province was created with the municipalities of Higüey and San Rafael del Yuma with the city of Salvaleón de Higüey as capital of the province. Las Lagunas de Nisibón was made a municipal district in 1982, La Otra Banda in 1987, Boca del Yuma in 2001, Bayahibe in 2002, and Verón Punta-Cana in 2006.

Origin of name
The province was named La Altagracia (High Grace) because the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia ("Our Lady of High Grace Basilica") is in the city of Higüey, capital city of the province.

Population
In  (last national census), there were  people living in the La Altagracia province, and 222,802 () living in towns and cities. The population density was  persons/km².

Its population represents  of the total population of the country and the province is ranked as the 9th (out of 31 plus the National District) more populated province.

, the total estimated propulation of the province is 322,653 inhabitants.

The largest city of the province is Higüey, its head municipality or capital, with a population (in ) of 168,501 inhabitants.

Geography 
The La Altagracia province has a total area of . It has   of the area of the Dominican Republic and it is ranked as the second (out of 31 plus the National District) largest province.

The altitude of Salvaleón de Higüey, provincial capital, is .

The main protected area in the province is the Parque Nacional del Este ("Eastern National park").

Mountains 
There are some low mountains in the northern part of the province. Those mountains are part of the Cordillera Oriental ("Eastern mountain range"). Savannas are found everywhere in the province.

Rivers 
There are not many rivers in this province. The main river is the Yuma that flows from north to south, into the Caribbean Sea.

Climate 
The climate of the province is a tropical climate, hot most of the year.

Municipalities
There are 2 municipalities and 5 municipal districts (M.D.) in the province. The municipalities and its municipal districts (M.D.) are:

Economy
The most important economic activities in the province are farming (cattle and sugar cane) and tourism. The eastern coast of the province, in the region of Punta Cana and Bávaro, is the most important touristic centre of the country with many hotels along beaches with white sand. Bayahibe, in the southern coast, is also an important touristic centre.

Related pages
 Provinces of the Dominican Republic
 Development regions of the Dominican Republic

References 

Provinces of the Dominican Republic
1961 establishments in North America
20th-century establishments in the Dominican Republic