Caguas Valley | |
---|---|
Floor elevation | 75 ft (23 m) |
Naming | |
Native name | Valle de Caguas, Valle del Turabo (Spanish) |
Geography | |
Location | Caguas, Gurabo, Juncos |
Coordinates | 18°13′53″N66°2′22″W / 18.23139°N 66.03944°W |
Traversed by | PR-1, PR-30, PR-52, PR-156, PR-183 |
Rivers | Loíza River, Bairoa River, Cagüitas River, Gurabo River, Turabo River |
The Caguas Valley (Spanish: Valle de Caguas), or the Caguas-Juncos Valley [1] and popularly referred to as the Turabo Valley (Spanish: Valle del Turabo), is a large valley lying between the Central Mountain Range and the Sierra Luquillo in the eastern part of Puerto Rico, immediately south of San Juan. [2]
In a clockwise direction, the valley is bound by the Altos de La Mesa and Altos de San Luis mountain ridges to the north, the Sierra de Luquillo in the northeast, the San Lorenzo Batholith in the east and southeast, the Sierra de Cayey in the south, and the foothills of the Cordillera Central in the west. [3]
This valley is fed mainly by the Río Grande de Loíza, the largest hydrological basin in Puerto Rico, and numerous tributaries such as the Cagüitas, along which the contemporary settlement of Caguas was built. The name Valle del Turabo ("Turabo Valley") comes from the Turabo River, which is another tributary that flows from the south. The Gurabo River, another major tributary, feeds into the Grande de Loíza at a region where the valley narrows into a rift valley, often called the Gurabo Valley, that runs from west to east and ends in Las Piedras and Humacao in the southeastern coast of the island. [4]
The Caguas Valley, from Caguas to Juncos, is formed by Holocene alluvial deposits that lay on top of hardened rock of volcanic origin, lava, and intrusive and metamorphic rocks that date from the Late Cretaceous to the Tertiary period. There are also small deposits of limestone. Except for the alluvium zone, the rocks in the basin do not generate large aquifers due to their low permeability. The alluvium in the valley includes non-uniform mixtures of sand, gravel, silt and mud, varying in thickness from 0 feet in with consolidated rocks to 160 feet in Caguas and Gurabo. In the area towards Gurabo and Juncos the alluvium contains more sand and gravel than in the area of Caguas; these alluvial deposits form the main aquifer in the area. The flows of the Loíza River and its tributaries, mainly the Gurabo River, have eroded most alluvial deposits within the fluvial flood zones. [1] [5]
The climate of the Caguas-Juncos Valley is rainy, with areas receiving up to 100 inches of precipitation annually. Rain varies throughout the year with the dry period lasting from January to April, the rainiest period being from May to June, the driest period from July to August, and the period of heavy rains lasting until the end of the year. [1]
La India Dormida (Spanish for "the sleeping Indian [woman]") is a famous geographical landmark for locals in the Valley of Caguas. Although often called a mountain, this is actually a group of mountains that through forced perspective (when seen from the north) form the shape of a sleeping woman. According to legend, the Taíno cacique Caguax had a niece called Taina (or Tayana) who sacrificed herself and was turned into the mountain during the Spanish conquest of Borinquen (or Boriken, the native name for Puerto Rico). The best way to observe this optical illusion is from Altos de San Luis, Altos de La Mesa and on expressway PR-52 and highway PR-1 when driving from north to south through the valley. [6]
Caguas is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, and east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey. Caguas was founded in 1775. The municipality had a population of 127,244 at the 2020 census.
San Lorenzo is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the eastern central region, north of Patillas and Yabucoa; south of Gurabo; east of Caguas and Cayey; and west of Juncos and Las Piedras. San Lorenzo is spread over twelve barrios and San Lorenzo Pueblo. It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Canóvanas is a town and municipality in Puerto Rico, located in the northeastern region, north of Juncos and Las Piedras; south of Loíza; east of Carolina; and west of Río Grande. Canóvanas is spread over 6 barrios and Canóvanas Pueblo. It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Caguax was a Taíno cacique who lived on the island of Borikén before and during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The name of his yucayeque, or Taino village, was Turabo; it comprised the Caguas Valley and surrounding mountains. This area today comprises the modern municipalities of Caguas, Aguas Buenas, Gurabo, and portions of San Lorenzo, Juncos and Las Piedras in east-central Puerto Rico. Guaybanex Caguax was an early convert to the Catholic faith; he adopted the Spanish name Francisco at the time of his baptism. His high rank in Taino society allowed him to also retain his Taino names, Guaybanex, and his surname, Caguax. Francisco Guaybanex Caguax sought to avoid conflict with the Spanish; as a powerful chief in the northern slopes and plains of the island he understood the heavy toll his people would suffer if they were to oppose the Spanish rule, and he sought peaceful ways to deal with the situation. As early as 1508, Caguax cooperated with the colonists’ requests for labor and a food supply. In 1511, he was one of only two chiefs who accepted the peace terms that the Spanish had offered a few months after the Taino Revolt started. In 1512, he was taken captive and transported to Hacienda del Toa. There he was humiliated before his nitainos by being forced to become the governor's personal servant. Caguax died in captivity in 1518 or early 1519. He was succeeded by his daughter, Maria Bagaaname.
Gurabo is a town and municipality in eastern Puerto Rico. It is located in the central eastern region, north of San Lorenzo; south of Trujillo Alto; east of Caguas; and west of Carolina and Juncos. Gurabo is spread over 9 barrios and Gurabo Pueblo. It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Trujillo Alto is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Northern Coastal Plain, on the boundary between the karst zone and Sierra de Luquillo, north of Caguas, and Gurabo; southeast of San Juan, and west of Carolina. Trujillo Alto is part of the San Juan Metropolitan Area, which includes the municipalities of Bayamón, Guaynabo, Cataño, and Toa Baja. The city is spread over 6 barrios and Trujillo Alto Pueblo. It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The Cordillera Central, is the main mountain range in Puerto Rico. The range crosses the island from west to east and divides it into its northern and southern coastal plains. The Cordillera Central runs eastward from the municipality of Maricao in the west to Aibonito in the central eastern region, and on to the Caribbean in the southeast through the Sierra Cayey.
The Rio Grande de Loíza is a river in the island of Puerto Rico. It is the largest river in Puerto Rico by discharge volume. Situated on the north coast of the island, it originates in the northeastern Sierra de Cayey, flowing from south to north, and draining into the Atlantic Ocean, a few miles east of San Juan.
Puerto Rico Highway 30 (PR-30), known as Expreso Cruz Ortiz Stella, is a main freeway in eastern Puerto Rico which connects the city of Caguas to the municipality of Humacao. With a length of 30.1 km (18.7 mi), it extends from PR-1 interchange in Bairoa barrio to PR-53 junction in Buena Vista barrio.
The Bairoa River is a river of Caguas, Puerto Rico.
The Gurabo River is a river and tributary of the Loíza River in Puerto Rico. In 2018, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced work would be done on the river, which runs through several municipalities including Gurabo, Juncos, and Las Piedras.
Puerto Rico senatorial district VII, also known as the senatorial district of Humacao, is one of the eight senatorial districts of Puerto Rico. As of 2021, it is represented by Rosamar Trujillo Plumey from the Popular Democratic Party and Wanda Soto from the New Progressive Party respectively.
Bairoa is a barrio or district in the municipality of Caguas, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2020 was 17,791. There are close to 60 sectors in Bairoa.
Caguas Pueblo is a barrio and downtown area that serves the administrative center (seat) of the city and municipality of Caguas, a municipality of Puerto Rico. It is bordered by the Cagüitas River to the north and located two miles southwest of the Río Grande de Loíza. Its population in 2020 was 20,008.
Miss World Puerto Rico 2014, was the 41st edition of the Miss World Puerto Rico pageant. It was held in the Guaynabo School of Fine Arts Theatre in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico on August 13, 2014. Génesis Dávila of Arroyo, was crowned Miss World Puerto Rico 2014 by outgoing titleholder Nadyalee Torres López of Caguas. Génesis María Dávila Pérez represented Puerto Rico at Miss World 2014 which was held at ExCeL London in London, England, United Kingdom on December 14, 2014.
Carite State Forest is a state forest and nature reserve located in the Sierra de Cayey mountain range in southeastern Puerto Rico. The forest extends over approximately 2,600 hectares and is located in the municipalities of Caguas, Cayey, Guayama, Patillas and San Lorenzo. The forest is located along the Ruta Panorámica, which offers access to the forest.
Cerro La Santa is a 2,962 feet high mountain and the highest point in the Sierra de Cayey in Puerto Rico. The peak of Cerro La Santa is located in the Carite State Forest, at a tri-point shared by the municipalities of Caguas, Cayey (Farallón) and San Lorenzo (Espino).
Altos de San Luis, also known as Monte Altos de San Luis, is an 886 feet high and two-mile-long prominent mountain ridge located on the northern edge of the Caguas Valley, in barrio (district) Bairoa of Caguas, Puerto Rico. The ridge is bordered by the Loíza River to the north and the east, and it forms part of a larger system of mountain ridges that extends from the southwestern end of the Sierra de Luquillo in Gurabo to the northeastern end of the Cordillera Central in Aguas Buenas. Other mountains and hills along this system include the Altos de La Mesa and Cerro La Marquesa. These ridges are shaped by the Great Northern Puerto Rico fault zone (GNPRfz), an active fault zone which crosses the island diagonally from southeast to northwest.