Puerto Plata Province
Puerto Plata (, "Silver Port") is one of the northern provinces of the Dominican Republic. The area has become an increasingly popular tourist attraction since the late 1990s mainly due to its fine beaches. It borders the Septentrional mountain range to the north (which separates it from Laguna Salada). Created from the Santiago Province in 1867 as a "maritime district", it became a province in 1907, when maritime districts were suppressed by a new Dominican constitution. Municipalities and municipal districts. The province is divided into the following municipalities ("municipios") and municipal districts ("distrito municipal" - D.M.) within them: The  following is a sortable table of the municipalities with population figures as of the 2012 census (the last national census). Urban population are those living in the seats ("cabeceras" literally heads) of municipalities or of municipal districts. Rural population are those living in the districts ("Secciones" literally sections) and neighborhoods ("Parajes" literally places) outside of them. For comparison with the municipalities and municipal districts of other provinces see the list of municipalities and municipal districts of the Dominican Republic.