Punta Cana
Punta Cana is a resort town within the Punta Cana-Bávaro-Veron-Macao municipal district, in the municipality of Higüey, in La Altagracia Province, the easternmost province of the Dominican Republic. The area has beaches and balnearios which face both the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, and it is a tourist destination. The weather is hot and humid, especially in late summer and autumn when the Northern Tropics receive their most direct sunlight.
Punta Cana | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Punta Cana Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic | |
| Coordinates: 18°32′N 068°22′W | |
| Country | Dominican Republic |
| Province | La Altagracia Province |
| Municipality | Higüey |
| Incorporated (town) | 27 June 2006[1] |
| Government | |
| • Mayor of Higüey | Rafael Barón Duluc (Social Democratic Institutional Bloc, 2020–2024) |
| • Director of Verón-Punta Cana | Ramón Antonio Ramírez (Dominican Liberation’s Party, 2016–2024) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 475.3 km2 (183.5 sq mi) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 43,982 |
| • Density | 93/km2 (240/sq mi) |
| [4] | |
| Time zone | UTC−4 (Atlantic) |
| Area code(s) | 809, 829, and 849 |
Geography and climate
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The Punta Cana area has an estimated population of 50,000, with an annual growth rate of 6% as of 2009.[5] To the north, it borders the village and beach of Cabeza de Toro, and the Bávaro and El Cortecito beaches. The nearest city, the 500-year-old Higüey, is 45 kilometres (28 mi) away, which takes about an hour to reach by car. European entrepreneurs, particularly Spanish hotel chains, own all but two of the over 50 megaresorts at the Punta Cana tourism destination.
The province’s 100-kilometre (62 mi) coastline tends to be mildly windy. The ocean waters are mainly shallows, with several natural marine pools in which visitors can bathe without danger. From north to south, the main beaches are Uvero Alto, Macao, Arena Gorda, Bávaro, El Cortecito, Las Corales, and Cabeza de Toro, all north of the cape; and Cabo Engaño, Punta Cana, and Juanillo south of the cape.
Bávaro is the area starting from Cabeza de Toro until Macao Beach. As the hotels started to rise along the east coast, Bavaro itself became a center of services with shopping malls, fast-food stores, drug stores, fine restaurants, banks, clinics, workshops, supermarkets, and schools. The major town in the district is Veron, now bigger than Higüey in territory, a spontaneous – and poor – urban development running along the original road from the west. Verón, last name of the French proprietor of a timberline business in the early 1930s, is now the base-city for hotel workers and related. It has, besides Bávaro, one of only four gas stations in Punta Cana: the next one is located 48 kilometres (30 mi) west in Higüey, at the Fruisa crossroads; a new Texaco gas station opened in April 2010, 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Macao beach; and the new Shell gas station close to the airport (on the highway Coral) opened at the end of 2010.
Climate
Punta Cana features a tropical wet and dry climate under the Köppen climate classification. The weather is fairly consistent all year, with an average temperature of 26 °C (79 °F). The hot and humid season lasts from May to October, and during the day temperatures might reach 35 °C (95 °F). From November to March, temperatures during the evening are around 20 °C (68 °F).
| Climate data for Punta Cana | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 31.0 (87.8) |
30.7 (87.3) |
31.2 (88.2) |
32.0 (89.6) |
33.9 (93.0) |
34.4 (93.9) |
34.7 (94.5) |
34.5 (94.1) |
34.6 (94.3) |
33.7 (92.7) |
32.7 (90.9) |
32.5 (90.5) |
34.7 (94.5) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 27.7 (81.9) |
27.6 (81.7) |
28.1 (82.6) |
28.7 (83.7) |
29.6 (85.3) |
30.3 (86.5) |
30.5 (86.9) |
30.7 (87.3) |
30.9 (87.6) |
30.5 (86.9) |
29.4 (84.9) |
28.1 (82.6) |
29.3 (84.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 24.8 (76.6) |
24.7 (76.5) |
25.0 (77.0) |
25.5 (77.9) |
26.4 (79.5) |
27.2 (81.0) |
27.5 (81.5) |
27.7 (81.9) |
27.6 (81.7) |
27.0 (80.6) |
26.3 (79.3) |
25.2 (77.4) |
26.2 (79.2) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 21.9 (71.4) |
21.8 (71.2) |
22.0 (71.6) |
22.5 (72.5) |
23.2 (73.8) |
24.1 (75.4) |
24.6 (76.3) |
24.8 (76.6) |
24.4 (75.9) |
23.6 (74.5) |
23.2 (73.8) |
22.3 (72.1) |
23.2 (73.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 16.0 (60.8) |
14.0 (57.2) |
14.8 (58.6) |
15.2 (59.4) |
16.0 (60.8) |
14.9 (58.8) |
19.0 (66.2) |
17.9 (64.2) |
15.0 (59.0) |
15.0 (59.0) |
15.9 (60.6) |
14.0 (57.2) |
14.0 (57.2) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 66.4 (2.61) |
54.2 (2.13) |
54.2 (2.13) |
69.2 (2.72) |
124.4 (4.90) |
103.9 (4.09) |
78.3 (3.08) |
103.1 (4.06) |
101.7 (4.00) |
152.1 (5.99) |
116.6 (4.59) |
78.5 (3.09) |
1,102.6 (43.41) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 10.0 | 6.8 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 10.1 | 9.2 | 9.1 | 10.0 | 10.4 | 11.4 | 11.5 | 11.0 | 112.8 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 82.8 | 81.4 | 81.2 | 82.1 | 83.0 | 82.2 | 82.3 | 82.6 | 82.5 | 83.0 | 82.2 | 83.2 | 82.4 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 256.9 | 241.9 | 278.8 | 265.0 | 249.7 | 255.1 | 268.3 | 271.2 | 245.2 | 242.7 | 238.3 | 233.2 | 3,046.3 |
| Source 1: World Meteorological Organization[6] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: NOAA[7] | |||||||||||||
Activities and landmarks
Punta Cana is a tourist destination,[8] and the area is a key contributor to tourism in the Dominican Republic.
Many of the excursions in Punta Cana are near the water, it being a beach destination. These activities include snorkeling, windsurfing, banana boat rides, speedboats, scuba diving, catamaran cruises, party boats, deep sea fishing, as well as swimming with dolphins and sharks and stingrays snorkeling. Visitors that prefer to see more of the Dominican country side, there are land based excursions such as safari tours, horse back riding and dune buggy.
Visiting the Dominican Republic's smaller Caribbean islands of Saona and Catalina is a day trip from Punta Cana. The capital city Santo Domingo, and Los Haitises National Park, Samaná, are within a couple of hours. The Basilica Catholic Monument, built in 1962 and designed by two French architects, is in nearby Higüey, the 500-year-old capital of the province.
Infrastructure
The electricity is powered by Consorcio Energetico Punta Cana Macao (CEPM), a wind and solar energy producer led by US-based Argentine businessman Rolando Gonzalez-Bunster.[9]
Tourism
Transportation
The Punta Cana International Airport is the primary airport. In 2014, Punta Cana received over 2.4 million passengers, making it the second-busiest airport in the Caribbean.[10] Grupo Puntacana built the Punta Cana International Airport in 1984 to facilitate tourism in the area. It was the western hemisphere’s first privately owned international airport.[11]
Hotels and resorts
Punta Cana has a number of luxury resorts.
Safety
Punta Cana received negative publicity in the summer of 2019 for a series of American tourist deaths.[12] Initially these deaths were reported as “mysterious,” with tainted alcohol and pesticides being rumored as possible reasons. However, with the help of the FBI and United States Department of State, it was found via toxicology reports that the deaths were from natural causes. To further ensure travelers that Punta Cana safety is of the highest priority, a consortium of 50 hotels developed the Punta Cana Promise which reaffirms their commitment to a set of safety and security guidelines.
Punta Cana is generally a very safe travel destination. With regards to unnatural deaths of Americans, Jamaica and the Bahamas are just two destinations in the Caribbean which are more dangerous.[13] Car accidents and drowning are the two leading causes of unnatural deaths to Americans in the Dominican Republic.
Other safety issues to keep in mind include natural disasters such as hurricanes, disease such as the Zika Virus and minor tourist scams.
Diving
Due to its location at the Caribbean Sea, diving is one of the tourist activities. The marine area surrounding Punta Cana was declared a marine reserve in 2012.[14]
Marine biodiversity
The following species have been registered in the waters around Punta Cana:
| Group | Common name | Scientific name | Image | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fish | yellowtail snapper | Ocyurus chrysurus |  | |
| queen triggerfish | Balistes vetula | |||
| glasseye | Heteropriacanthus cruentatis | |||
| whitespotted filefish | Cantherhines macrocerus | |||
| spotted goatfish | Pseudupeneus maculatus | |||
| yellow goatfish | Mulloidichthys martinicus | |||
| Bermuda chub | Kyphosus sectatrix | |||
| great barracuda | Sphyraena barracuda | |||
| bar jack | Caranx ruber | |||
| saucereye porgy | Calamus calamus | |||
| French angelfish | Pomacanthus paru | |||
| southern stingray | Dasyatis americana | |||
| yellow stingray | Urolobatis jamaicensis | |||
| spotted eagle ray | Aetobatus narinari | |||
| Caribbean reef shark | Carcharhinus perezi | |||
| goldentail moray | Gymnothorax miliaris | |||
| spotted moray | Gymnothorax moringa | |||
| mangrove snapper | Lutjanus griseus | |||
| mutton snapper | Lutjanus analis | |||
| porkfish | Anisotremus virginicus | |||
| black margate | Anisotremus surinamensis | |||
| blue striped grunt | Haemulon sciurus | |||
| Caesar grunt | Haemulon carbonarium | |||
| French grunt | Haemulon flavolineatum | |||
| Spanish grunt | Haemulon macrostomum | |||
| tomtate grunt | Haemulon aurolineatum | |||
| white grunt | Haemulon plumierii | |||
| black grouper | Mycteroperca bonaci | |||
| coney | Cephalopholis fulva | |||
| Nassau grouper | Epinephelus striatus | |||
| sergeant major | Abudefduf saxatilis | | ||
| lucky grouper | Epinephelus guttatus | |||
| yellowfin grouper | Mycteroperca venenosa | |||
| graysby | Cephalopholis cruentata | |||
| harlequin bass | Serranus tigrinus | |||
| princess parrotfish | Scarus taeniopterus | |||
| queen parrotfish | Scarus vetula | |||
| rainbow parrotfish | Scarus guacamaia | |||
| redband parrotfish | Sparisoma aurofrenatum | |||
| redfin parrotfish | Sparisoma rubripinne | |||
| redtail parrotfish | Sparisoma chrysopterum | |||
| stoplight parrotfish | Sparisoma viride | |||
| Spanish hogfish | Bodianus rufus | |||
| hogfish | Lachnolaimus maximus | |||
| bonefish | Albula vulpes | |||
| long-spine porcupinefish | Diodon holocanthus | |||
| red lionfish (invasive) | Pterois volitans | |||
| yellowtail damselfish | Microspathodon chrysurus | |||
| yellowhead wrasse | Halichoeres garnoti | |||
| Reptiles | green sea turtle | Chelonia mydas | ||
| hawksbill sea turtle | Eretmochelys imbricata | |||
| Mollusks | Caribbean reef squid | Sepioteuthis sepiodea | ||
| common octopus | Octopus vulgaris | |||
| queen conch | Lobatus gigas | |||
| Crustaceans | banded coral shrimp | Stenopus hispidus | ||
| Caribbean spiny lobster | Panulirus argus | |||
| spotted spiny lobster | Panulirus guttatus | |||
| Scyllarides aequinoctialis | ||||
| Corals | purple sea fan | Gorgonia ventalina | | |
| sea ginger | Millepora alcicornis | |||
| blade fire coral | Millepora complanata | |||
| Millepora squarrosa | ||||
| Stephanoccenia intercepta | ||||
| elkhorn coral | Acropora palmata | |||
| staghorn coral | Acropora cervicornis | |||
| fused staghorn coral | Acropora prolifera | |||
| Agaricia agarities | ||||
| finger coral | Porites porites | |||
| Montastrea annuligera | ||||
| Montastrea colemani | ||||
| Montastrea curta | ||||
| Montastrea magnistellata | ||||
| Montastrea multipunctata | ||||
| Montastrea salebrosa | ||||
| Montastrea serageldini | ||||
| pillar coral | Dendrogyra cylindrus | |||
| Algae | Halimeda opuntia | |||
| cactus tree alga | Caulerpa cupressoides | |||
| Coelothrix irregularis | ||||
| Haploplegma duperryi | ||||
| Rhodophyta orden | ||||
| Dictyota cervicornis | ||||
| Stypopodium zonale | ||||
| Sea grasses | turtlegrass | Thalassia testudinum | ||
| manatee grass | Syringodium filiforme | |||
| Echinoderms | donkey dung sea cucumber | Holothuria mexicana | ||
| black sea urchin | Diadema antillarum | |||
| Mammals | West Indian manatee | Trichechus manatus | ||
| Birds | brown pelican | Pelecanus occidentalis | ||
| common tern | Sterna hirundo | |||
| great egret | Ardea alba | |||
| green heron | Butorides virescens | |||
| yellow-crowned night heron | Nyctanassa violacea | |||
| killdeer | Charadrius vociferus | |||
| western osprey | Pandion haliaetus | |||
| magnificent frigatebird | Fregata magnificens | |||
See also
References
- (in Spanish) Law -2006. Senate of the Dominican Republic.
- https://m.diariolibre.com/actualidad/politica/cholitin-celebra-victoria-electoral-como-nuevo-alcalde-de-higuey-LD17721578
- https://www.eltiempo.com.do/quien-es-ramon-ramirez-el-virtual-ganador-de-la-direccion-distrital-de-veron-punta-cana
- (in Spanish) 9th Census of Population and Housing (2010), General Report Archived 2012-12-02 at the Wayback Machine. National Bureau of Statistics.
- Valdez Architects & Associates. 2008–2009 Zoning Plan assigned by the Hotel Association.
- "World Weather Information Service - Punta Cana". World Meteorological Organization. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
- "Climate Normals for Cabo Engaño (Punta Cana) 1961-1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
- Robinson, William I. (2013). "L'Amérique latine face au nouveau capitalisme mondialisé". Mouvements. 4 (76): 14–24. doi:10.3917/mouv.076.0013 – via Cairn.info.
- "Company Overview of Consorcio Energético Punta Cana - Macao, S.A." Bloomberg. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
- "Punta Cana Facts Sheet" (PDF). Punta Cana International Airport.
- "The Official Website of Punta Cana International AirportDominican Republic flights to Punta Cana International Airport". www.puntacanainternationalairport.com. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
- "8 questions about the unexplained tourist deaths in the Dominican Republic, answered". The Washington Post.
- "Americans are far more likely to be killed in the US than in the Dominican Republic". CNN.
- Domínguez Brito, 2017, p. 1
- "Yellowtail Snapper - Ocyurus chrysurus - Snappers - - Tropical Reefs". reefguide.org. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
- Domínguez Brito, 2017, p.10
- Domínguez Brito, 2017, p.11
- Domínguez Brito, 2017, p.12
- Domínguez Brito, 2017, p.13
- Domínguez Brito, 2017, p.14
- Domínguez Brito, 2017, p.15
Bibliography
- Domínguez Brito, Francisco. 2017. Normativa de manejo de la zona ecoturística del santuario marino arrecifes del sureste, 1–26. Ministerio del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales. Accessed 2018-08-02.
External links
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