The Cordillera Central ( English: "Central Mountain Range") is the only

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

in the main island of

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, consisting of three subranges: the western-central ''Cordillera Central'', the southeastern

Sierra de Cayey The Sierra de Cayey ( English: "Cayey Mountains") is one of three subranges of the Cordillera Central mountain range in the main island of Puerto Rico. It is demarcated from the eponymous main subrange of ''Cordillera Central'' by the San Crist� ...

, and the northeastern Sierra de Luquillo. Bordered by the Northern Karst Belt to the northwest and costal plains to the north and south, the numerous

ridges A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...

and

foothills Foothills or piedmont are geography, geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an highland, upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low terrain, relief hill ...

of the three subranges combined extend throughout the island. Concentrated in the western to central region of the island, the

eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

main subrange of ''Cordillera Central'' originates in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of Mayagüez and merges with the

subrange on the town boundary between the municipalities of Barranquitas and Aibonito. At 1,338 meters (4,390 ft) on the town line between Ponce and Jayuya,

Cerro de Punta Cerro de Punta or Cerro Punta is the highest peak in Puerto Rico, rising to above sea level.As of February, 1981, the US Geological Survey reports the height as 1,328 meters. (See''Geographic Names Information System: Feature Query Results.''Un ...

is the

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

of the ''Cordillera Central'' and the highest point in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico geography

History

The region of the Cordillera Central has been inhabited since the pre-Hispanic era. During the Spanish colonization of Puerto Rico, the Cordillera Central was likely shared by different

Taíno The Taíno are the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now The ...

''cacicazgos'' or chiefdoms: Yagüecax, Otoao, Jatibonico, Guaynia and Turabon. Many of the indigenous Taínos fled to the central mountainous region during the Spanish conquest of Borinquen, and the region today hosts a number of related archaeological sites. Throughout the history of Puerto Rico, this mountain range has been important for the economy of the island. Due to its climate, the range has been ideal for the cultivation of fruit, vegetables and, most famously,

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

. The coffee cultivation and

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

in the Cordillera Central intensified throughout the 19th century. This helped develop the mountainous region of the island and attracted a high influx of immigrants from coastal cities such as

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

and Ponce, but also from Europe thanks to the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815 which encouraged non-Spanish Europeans to settle and cultivate the land. Coffee was one of the most lucrative industries of the region at the time, and it was developed particularly by Corsican immigrants. The first paved road to span the mountain range was the Carretera Central, which was functional by 1886 and completed in 1898, connecting

in the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coast to Ponce in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

coast. Many of the workers involved in its construction were confined Chinese workers from

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

between the years 1865 and 1880. The original road goes through the municipalities of San Juan (formerly the municipality of

Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Flo ...

), Guaynabo,

Caguas Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality in central eastern Puerto Rico. Located in the eponymous Caguas Valley between the Sierra de Cayey and Sierra de Luquillo of the Central Mountain Range, it is bordered by San Juan and Trujillo Alto to ...

, Cidra, Cayey, Aibonito, Coamo,

Juana Díaz Juana is a Spanish female name. It is the feminine form of ''Juan'' (English ''John''), and thus corresponds to the English names Jane, Jean, Joan, and Joanna. The feminine diminutive form (male equivalent to ''Johnny'') is Juanita (equival ...

and Ponce. This was the most important engineering project built by the

Spanish government The government of Spain () is the central government which leads the executive branch and the General State Administration of the Kingdom of Spain. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and the Ministers; the prime minister has the o ...

in Puerto Rico during the 19th century and it highly influenced the human development of the region. The original route is now listed in the US National Register of Historic Places. This road is also known as the Military Road (Spanish: ''Carretera Militar'') for its strategic importance and it was used both by the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

during the Puerto Rico campaign of the

Spanish-American War Spanish Americans (, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in the modern United States, with a ...

of 1898.

Geography

Topography of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico by USDA

The Puerto Rico Central Mountain Range or ''Cordillera Central'' is considered the largest of the three geographical and physiographic provinces of the island, along with the Karst regions and the coastal plains. The mountain range begins in the western part of the island in the municipalities of Mayagüez, Maricao, and Las Marías close to the

Mona Passage The Mona Passage () is a strait that separates the islands of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. The Mona Passage connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea and is an important shipping route between the Atlantic and the Panama Canal. The Mona Pas ...

in the west coast of Puerto Rico. Another western portion of the range that is sometimes included in the Cordillera Central, called the Santa Marta Hills, is located to the southwest in the municipalities of Sabana Grande, San Germán, Lajas and Cabo Rojo. This subrange forms the division between the Lajas Valley and the Guanajibo or Sabana Grande Valley, and it connects to the main range of the Cordillera Central in the border between Yauco and Sabana Grande. The Cordillera Central proper keeps eastward through the municipalities of Maricao,

Lares Lares ( , ; archaic , singular ) were Tutelary deity#Ancient Rome, guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been hero-ancestors, guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries, or fruitfulness, or an ama ...

, Utuado, Yauco,

Adjuntas Adjuntas () is a small mountainside Adjuntas barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico located in the central midwestern portion of the island on the Cordillera Central, Puerto Rico, Cordillera Central, no ...

, Guayanilla, Peñuelas, Ponce, Jayuya,

, Villalba, Ciales, Orocovis, Corozal, Barranquitas, Coamo, Comerío and Aibonito; this section contains the highest peaks of the range and Puerto Rico, such as

which is the highest point in the island. The Aibonito Pass (also known as Asomante Pass) to the immediate south of San Cristóbal Cayon creates a division between the Cordillera Central proper and its eastward subrange, the

, which crosses Cayey, Salinas,

Guayama Guayama (, ), officially the Autonomous Municipality of Guayama (), is a Guayama barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean coast of Puerto Rico. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

, San Lorenzo and Patillas. From this point the range splits in two ridges (often called ''cuchillas'' in Spanish): the Sierra de Guardarraya between Patillas and Maunabo in the north, and the Sierra Pandura between Maunabo and Yabucoa in the south; these two small ranges end in the southeastern coast of Puerto Rico next to the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

, forming the plains of the Valley of Maunabo between them. The Sierra de Luquillo, which crosses Gurabo, Carolina, Juncos, Canóvanas, Las Piedras,

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

, Luquillo, Naguabo,

Fajardo Fajardo () is a Fajardo barrio-pueblo, town and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality part of the San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area, San Juan-Caguas-Fajardo Combined Statistical Area in Puerto Rico. Fajardo is the hub of mu ...

, and

Ceiba ''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to Tropics, tropical and Subtropics, subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to northern Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall ...

, is often included as a subrange of the Cordillera Central, however it is separated from it by the Loíza hydrological basin in the Caguas Valley and numerous other geographical features such as the San Lorenzo batholith. File:PR Shaded Relief.jpg, Relief map with the Cordillera Central

Geology

The northern edge of the Cordillera Central was formed throughout millions of years through the interactions between the

North American North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the sou ...

and Caribbean plate tectonics. The relief was shaped by an accordion-like motion between both plate tectonics through subduction and transform fault line collisions. In addition to the seismic orogeny, the central mountain ranges are also the product of volcanic activity from 120 million years ago in the

Early Cretaceous The Early Cretaceous (geochronology, geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphy, chronostratigraphic name) is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 143.1 ...

period, and what is the Cordillera Central today used to be the tips of small islands surrounding larger volcanic islands. Given its volcanic origin, most of the rocks are of

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

, Paleocene and Cretaceous Volcanic rock, volcanic and Sedimentary rock, sedimentary composition. There are also deposits of intrusive rock, composed of quartz diorite, diorite and granodiorite, in addition to alluvium in the central and northern regions, and Metamorphic rock, metamorphic Serpentine soil, serpentine sedimentary and igneous rock in the western portion.

Ecology

The Cordillera Central is home to most of the endemic plant and animal species in Puerto Rico. The majority of the range is home to Puerto Rican moist forests, belonging to both the Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of the Caribbean. This habitat style is often known as jungle (Spanish: ''selva'') and it extends to other geographical provinces of the island such as the karst zones and the coastal lowlands.

Flora

The Cordillera Central is home to several types of forests such as the tropical montane forest, which includes the Cloud forest, cloud and dwarf forests, and the subtropical moist forest. Trees at middle elevations tend to be the tallest while those closer to the mountain summits tend to be smaller. Some of the most common plant species are the West Indian treefern (''Cyathea arborea''), the trumpet tree (''Cecropia peltata''), the nemoca tree (''Ocotea moschata''), the West Indian sumac (''Brunellia comocladifolia''), the yucca plum pine (''Podocarpus coriaceus''), the candlewood or tabonuco tree (''Dacryodes excelsa''), the bulletwood (''Manilkara bidentata''), the Puerto Rican magnolia (''Magnolia portoricensis''), the maga tree (''Thespesia grandiflora''), and the Sierra palm tree (''Prestoea montana''). The foothills are home to plants such as the coroso palm tree (''Acrocomia media'') and the West Indian locust (''Hymenaea courbaril''). Most of the endangered species are also endemic, and they include species such as the Cordillera maiden fern (''Amauropelta inabonensis''), only found in Cerro Rosa, Cook's holly (''Ilex cookii'') which is only found in

and Monte Jayuya, Mount Jayuya, and the palo de ramon (''Banara vanderbiltii'') of which only 20 wild individuals remain. The Caribbean pine (Caribbean pine, ''Pinus caribaea'') and the West Indian (''Swietenia mahagoni'') and Honduran mahogany trees (''Swietenia macrophylla, S. macrophylla'') have been introduced and successfully adapted to the mountain forests.

Fauna

This region is home to a high number of endemic animal species, most of which are birds and amphibians. In addition to the common coqui (''Common coquí, Eleutherodactylus coqui''), the mountain forests are home to at least 10 other species of coqui (''Eleutherodactylus'' sp.), some of which are endangered. Some reptile species found in the forest are the Puerto Rican ground lizard (Common Puerto Rican ameiva, ''Pholidoscelis exsul''), the blind worm lizard (''Amphisbaena caeca''), the endangered Puerto Rican boa (Puerto Rican boa, ''Chilabothrus inornatus'') and the Puerto Rican racer (''Borikenophis portoricensis''). The most common birds are the Puerto Rican woodpecker (Puerto Rican woodpecker, ''Melanerpes portoricensis''), the Puerto Rican tody (Puerto Rican tody, ''Todus mexicanus''), the Puerto Rican lizard cuckoo (Puerto Rican lizard cuckoo, ''Coccyzus vieilloti''), the zenaida dove (Zenaida dove, ''Zenaida aurita''), the Puerto Rican emerald hummingbird (Puerto Rican emerald, ''Riccordia maugeaus'') and the red-tailed hawk (Red-tailed hawk, ''Buteo jamaicensis''). The Puerto Rican parrot (''Puerto Rican amazon, Amazona vittata'') used to be very common in the region but it is now critically endangered; other endangered birds are the Puerto Rican broad-winged hawk, Bicknell's thrush and the Puerto Rican sharp-shinned hawk. The rivers and streams that originate in the mountains are home to species such as the mountain mullet (Mountain mullet, ''Dajaus monticola'') and the ''gata'' shrimp (''Atya lanipes''). There is also a number of bat species found throughout the region including the Antillean ghost-faced bat (Antillean ghost-faced bat, ''Mormoops blainvillei''), the greater bulldog bat (''Greater bulldog bat, Noctilio leporinus'') and the sooty mustached bat (Sooty mustached bat, ''Pteronotus quadridens''). The invasive small Indian mongoose (Small Indian mongoose, ''Urva auropunctata'') and black rat (''Rattus rattus'') are very common and considered a threat to many endangered native species.

Protected areas

The Central Mountain Range or Cordillera Central contains most of the protected List of Puerto Rico state forests, state forests of Puerto Rico: * Carite State Forest, Carite * Cerrillos State Forest, Cerrillos * Guilarte State Forest, Guilarte * Los Tres Picachos State Forest, Los Tres Picachos * Maricao State Forest, Maricao (Monte del Estado) * Monte Choca State Forest, Monte Choca * Pueblo State Forest, Pueblo * Susúa State Forest, Susúa * Toro Negro State Forest, Toro Negro

Climate

The Cordillera Central extends from west to east creating a geographic division between the north and the south of the island. The altitude of these mountains blocks the easterly trade winds and creates a rain shadow that cause the southern plains to have a drier and semi-arid weather than the more tropical humid weather found in the northern part of the island. The Cordillera is the rainiest region of Puerto Rico outside the Sierra de Luquillo. The rainiest periods are between the months of May and December, correlating with the wet season (often used interchangeably with Tropical cyclone, hurricane season), with the months between December and March being relatively the driest. Some of the lowest temperatures in Puerto Rico have been recorded in mountain towns and municipalities located on or along the Cordillera Central. The lowest temperature ever recorded was of in the eastern portion of the range at Aibonito in March 1911, followed by in the central portion of the range at Adjuntas in 1966 and 1993. Based on the current global climate patterns it is impossible for it to snow in the Cordillera Central or anywhere else in Puerto Rico.

Mountains in the Cordillera Central

The following table lists the 50 highest mountain peaks of Puerto Rico that are located in the Cordillera Central, including those of the Sierra de Cayey. Note that some unnamed peaks in the region are not included.

Gallery

File:Tabonuco, Sabana Grande 00637, Puerto Rico - panoramio.jpg, Cordillera Central and ''Dacryodes excelsa, tabonuco'' forest in Sabana Grande. File:Mountain view PR-129 in Piletas, Lares, Puerto Rico.jpg, View of the Cordillera from the north in Piletas, Piletas, Lares. File:Lago de Yauco.JPG, Yauco Lake reservoir. File:Adjuntas003.jpg, Adjuntas barrio-pueblo, Adjuntas Pueblo and El Gigante Dormido. File:Estuario de la Bahía de Guayanilla.jpg, Cordillera Central from Guayanilla Bay. File:Cerro de Punta as seen from Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico (DSC03460).jpg,

, Puerto Rico's highest peak, from downtown Ponce. File:Cordillera Central Puerto Rico.JPG, Cordillera Central from Mirador Villalba- Orocovis. File:Tetas de Cayey.jpg, Cerro Las Tetas in Salinas close to the Aibonito Pass. File:Lago Patillas en Patillas, Puerto Rico.jpg,

from Patillas Lake. File:Punta Tuna Beach from Lighthouse 2.jpg, View of Sierra de Guardarraya, the easternmost end of the Cordillera Central physiographic province, from Punta Tuna Light, Punta Tuna, Maunabo.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Cordillera Central (Puerto Rico)
Proyecto Salón HogarWelcome to Puerto Rico (Geography)
Mountain ranges of the Caribbean Mountain ranges of Puerto Rico Geography of Puerto Rico Physiographic provinces Cordilleras