The geography of Puerto Rico consists of an archipelago located between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic or Hispaniola, west of the Virgin Islands and north of Venezuela. The main island of Puerto Rico is the smallest and most eastern of the Greater Antilles. With an area of 3,515 square miles (9,104 km2), it is the third largest island in the United States and the 82nd largest island in the world. Various smaller islands and cays, including Vieques, Culebra, Mona, Desecheo, and Caja de Muertos comprise the remainder of the archipelago with only Culebra and Vieques being inhabited year-round. Mona is uninhabited through large parts of the year except for employees of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources.
Cerro Maravilla is Puerto Rico's fourth highest peak at 1,205 meters (3,953 ft). It is located on the northern edge Barrio Anón in Ponce, close to the border with the municipality Jayuya, and is part of the Cordillera Central. It is known as El Cerro de los Mártires and characterized as the most infamous peak in Puerto Rico, due to the 1978 Cerro Maravilla murders which took place here.
Pico El Yunque or El Yunque Peak is a mountain that is located fully within the boundaries of the El Yunque National Forest, part of the U.S. Forest Service, which is the only tropical rainforest under the U.S. Forest Service jurisdiction. It is located in the municipality of Río Grande.
El Yunque National Forest, formerly known as the Caribbean National Forest, is a forest located in northeastern Puerto Rico. It is the only tropical rainforest in the United States National Forest System and the United States Forest Service. El Yunque National Forest is located on the slopes of the Sierra de Luquillo mountains, encompassing more than 28,000 acres of land, making it the largest block of public land in Puerto Rico.
Luquillo is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the northeast coast, northwest of Fajardo; and east of Rio Grande. Luquillo is spread over 5 barrios and Luquillo Pueblo. It lends its name to the Sierra de Luquillo, where El Yunque National Forest is located. It is part of the Fajardo Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Naguabo is a town and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the east coast of the island bordered by the Vieques Passage, north of Humacao; south of Río Grande and Ceiba; and east of Las Piedras. Naguabo is spread over 8 barrios and Naguabo Pueblo. It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Río Grande is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located on the eastern edge of the Northern Coastal Valley, north of Las Piedras, Naguabo and Ceiba; east of Loíza and Canóvanas and west of Luquillo. Río Grande is spread over eight barrios and Río Grande Pueblo. It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area. A big portion of El Yunque National Forest, including El Yunque's peak, is located within the municipality.
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 de Cayey. The Central Mountain Range consists of the Cordillera Central proper and numerous subranges, foothills and ridges that extend throughout the island. Cerro de Punta is both the highest peak of the Cordillera Central and the highest point in Puerto Rico. The Sierra de Luquillo, where El Yunque is located, is sometimes included as a subrange or eastward extension of the Cordillera Central.
Monte Jayuya is the second highest peak of Puerto Rico measuring 1,296 meters (4,252 ft) above sea level. The mountain is located in the Cordillera Central, on the border between the municipalities of Jayuya and Ponce. The peak is located in the municipality of Ponce and it is within the Toro Negro State Forest.
Cerro del Vigía is a hill in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico, located just north of the city of Ponce. A tourist destination, it is home to Museo Castillo Serrallés, Cruceta del Vigía, and the former Hotel Ponce Intercontinental.
The Sierra de Luquillo is a mountain range located in the northeastern part of Puerto Rico. Also known as the Luquillo Mountains, these are steep-sided, densely-forested mountains rising to elevations of around 1,075 m (3,527 ft), the highest point being the summit of El Toro, closely followed by that of Pico El Yunque.
Cerro del Diablo is a mountain in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico, located north-northwest of the city of Ponce. The 2,234-foot high hill sits at the foothills of the Cordillera Central and is located in Barrio Tibes.
El Toro is 3,526 feet high and is the highest peak in the Sierra de Luquillo mountains in eastern Puerto Rico.
Guilarte State Forest is one of the 20 forests that make up the public forests system in Puerto Rico. The forest is located in the eastern half of the Central Mountain Range or Cordillera Central. The main geographical feature of the forest reserve is Monte Guilarte, which is Puerto Rico's 7th highest mountain at 3,950 feet above sea level. While Monte Guilarte is located in the municipality of Adjuntas, the forest's borders also include parts of Guayanilla, Peñuelas and Yauco.
Los Picachos is a mountain peak of El Yunque massif located immediately to the southeast of El Yunque's main peak in the Sierra de Luquillo. The peak consists of a high ridge made up of several smaller peaks and it is one of the highest peaks of El Yunque National Forest that can be reached by a hiking trail. It is located at 3,041 feet above the sea level.
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).
