Veraguas Province

Veraguas Province
Provincia de Veraguas
Province

Panorama of Veragus Province

Flag

Location of Veraguas Province in Panama
Country Panama
Founded July 9, 1508
Capital city Santiago
Area
 • Total 10,587.5 km2 (4,087.9 sq mi)
Population (2010 census)
 • Total 226,991
 • Density 21/km2 (56/sq mi)
Demonym(s) veraguense
Time zone Eastern Time (UTC-5)
ISO 3166 code PA-9
Website http://www.veraguas.org/

Veraguas (Spanish pronunciation: [beˈɾa.ɣwas]) is a province of Panama, located in the centre-west of the country. The capital is the city of Santiago de Veraguas. It is the only Panamanian province to border both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It covers 11,239.3 km² and is divided into twelve districts.

History

Veraguas was explored by Christopher Columbus on his fourth voyage. He tried to establish the first colony in the new Spanish mainland but failed due to attacks from native Indians. Diego de Nicuesa also tried to make a colony and failed, which made him create a colony to fight against the Indians called Nombre de Dios. Its capital, Santiago de Veraguas, was founded about 1636.[1]

It is said that its name comes from the indigenous word "Veracua" or "Viragua", though other theories abound. It is the only province in Panama with coastlines on both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The majority of people live on the Pacific side; the Caribbean coast is mostly uninhabited.

Tourism

Veraguas has many groups of inhabitants, mainly of Spanish-Indian origin named campesinos. This land offers tourists and visitors close contact with nature. Forests, mountains, coasts, and islands where there are more than 200 varieties of orchids; more than 400 species of birds, in addition to mammals, reptiles, and insects.

Veraguas has various national parks. The Coiba National Park, (with the largest coral reef of the Pacific Coast of America), Cerro Hoya National Park (covers the southwest part of the Azuero Peninsula and the sea that surrounds it), Santa Fe National Park (a forest in the northern region), La Yeguada Forest reserve (with a great artificial lake for the production of electricity)and El Montuoso Forest reserve.

Beaches such as Playa Santa Catalina, Playa Mariato, Malena, and Torio offer great places for recreation, surfing, and fishing. Other famous touristic areas is the Iglesia de San Francisco de la Montaña. This church has a Baroque architecture and dates back to 1727. It was declared a National Historical Monument on January 27, 1937.

Districts

  1. Atalaya District (Atalaya)
  2. Calobre District (Calobre)
  3. Cañazas District (Cañazas)
  4. La Mesa District (La Mesa)
  5. Las Palmas District (Las Palmas)
  6. Montijo District (Montijo, Panama)
  7. Río de Jesús District (Río de Jesús)
  8. San Francisco District (San Francisco)
  9. Santa Fe District (Santa Fe)
  10. Santiago District (Santiago de Veraguas)
  11. Soná District (Enrique Arosemena)
  12. Mariato District (Mariato)

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gudeman, Stephen (2004), The Demise of a Rural Economy: From Subsistence to Capitalism in a Latin, Routledge, p. 17, ISBN 0-415-33042-4

Official website of Santiago de Veraguas Media related to Veraguas at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 8°N 81°W / 8°N 81°W / 8; -81

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.