San Francisco de Macorís

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San Francisco de Macorís*
Official seal of San Francisco de Macorís*
San Francisco de Macorís* is located in the Dominican Republic
San Francisco de Macorís*
San Francisco de Macorís*
Coordinates: 19°18′0″N 70°15′0″W﻿ / ﻿19.30000°N 70.25000°W﻿ / 19.30000; -70.25000
Country Dominican Republic
Province Duarte
Founded 236 years, 3 months and 8 days[1]
Municipality since 1844
 • Total 727.15 km2 (280.75 sq mi)
Elevation[3] 110 m (360 ft)
Population (2012)[4]
 • Total 245,397
 • Density 340/km2 (870/sq mi)
 • Demonym Francomacorisano(a)
Municipal Districts 4

San Francisco de Macorís is a city in the Dominican Republic located in the northeast portion of the island, in the Cibao region. It is the capital of the Duarte Province, and the eighth most populated city in the country. The name San Francisco de Macorís comes from a fusion of the name of Saint Francis, patron saint of the Franciscan Order (a religious organization from Italy that had come to this territory during colonization) and the territory's old name, which is Macorix.


The city of San Francisco de Macoris is located in the North Region of the Dominican Republic (Cibao Region) between the Septentrional Mountain Range at the north and the Cibao Valley at the southern part. Temperatures fluctuate between 62°- 90° Fahrenheit (17°- 32° Celsius), with cooler temperatures affected by rainfall. It is largely an isolated paradise since much of the territory is unaffected by hurricanes or extremely hot weather. Occasional floods can occur due to a rainy season which manifests itself mostly during the month of May. San Francisco de Macoris has hills to the north which provide a great view of the city during evening hours. The Jaya River is prominent on the western part of town.


The relief of Duarte Province ranges from 17 meters to 942 meters above sea level, reaching its highest elevation at "Loma Quita Espuela". This name allegedly comes from the time when the Spaniards were exploring the island, since the hill was too steep to ride their horses, they had to dismount and remove their spurs and undertake the ascent on foot. There are two main geologic regions: the north slope of the Cordillera Septentrional and the rough topography of the Delta del Yuna.

On the southern slope of the Cibao Valley in the Yuna Subregion (Easter Cibao), we will find alluvial fans, in combination with deposit hollows, hill areas and platforms, and also alluvial soils into the channels of the flows of the rivers Camú and Yuna.


Two faults go through the Duarte Province from east to west. This tectonic deformations are the Septentrional fault, that touches the towns of Arenoso, Castillo and San Francisco de Macorís and the Cibao fault passing through the towns of Las Guaranas, Castillo, Villa Riva Pimentel. The Septentrional fault is located in the northern part of the province while the Cibao fault is located in the southern part of it.


Yuna River Delta. It is part of the Cibao Valley, and most of these areas are located a few meters above sea level and therefore wetlands abound. Its main rivers are the Great Yuna and Caño Estero, which is the natural drainage of these lands in the province of Maria Trinidad Sanchez. Consists mainly of swamps with silt and clay, are also large areas of peat deposits. By the rivers are alluvial.

Eastern Cibao Valley (Also part of the Cibao Valle). It is divided into the provinces of Santiago, Espaillat, Sánchez Ramírez, Sánchez and Duarte, the latter having a higher percentage (about 50%). All cities in this province are rooted in this valley except the city of Arenoso. The floodplains of the Yuna River system occupy a narrow strip on the south side of the valley and there is also a narrow chain of hills probably middle Miocene limestones adjacent to the North mountain range. For this province the valley also has marine lacustrine deposits of clay, basically of two kinds: a limestone and other no calcareous.

The Haitises. They consist of a karst platform, which is composed of hard limestone from the Oligocene-Miocene. The highest elevations are generally 200 to 250 meters tall. The Payabo River crosses the region by a narrow channel filled with alluvial deposits.

Northern Range. It is a mountain range of sedimentary rocks and highly faulted and folded fobáceas. In this province the Northern Range reaches heights of 942 meters (Quita Espuela); near San Francisco de Macorís the ridge height is slightly below 300 meters. It presents some mudstone, limestone and Miocene and Eocene oligocénicos. To the south of Gaspar Hernandez and reaching the Nagua River there is a very complex area with rugged hills of limestone, tuff and probably with other volcanic and metamorphic rocks, mainly of Upper Cretaceous.


There are many rivers and streams in the Duarte Province, being the most important ones: the Camú River, the Yuna River and their tributaries (Jaya, Cuaba, Nigua, Payabo, among others). The Yuna River and Camú River constitute important sources of water, both for drinking as irrigation.

Physiography and environment[edit]


Soil erosion from deforestation also affects the environment of the Duarte Province. Similarly, the smoke from factories and from burning trash, specifically in the municipality of San Francisco de Macoris, is affecting its inhabitants

Sites of interest[edit]

The municipal building[edit]

City Hall of San Francisco de Macoris

The City Hall of San Francisco de Macoris, is the headquarters of the city counsel and city mayor.

Santa Ana Cathedral[edit]

Santa Ana Cathedral

This structure is a mixture of Gothic and modern architecture. It covers a complete city block, bound in the north by Santa Ana Street, in the south by Colon Street, on the west by Papi Olivier Street and on the east by Restauracion Street. The Santa Ana Cathedral is the headquarters of Obispo de la Diócesis de San Francisco and home to the humanist Monseñor Jesús María de Jesús Moya.


San Francisco de Macoris, has several radio stations and publications. Its longest running newspaper is El Jaya, which was founded November 20, 1985. Its director and founder is the journalist Adriano Cruz Marte.

Notable residents[edit]


  1. ^ González Hernández, Julio Amable (16 August 2008). "Familias de pueblos: San Francisco de Macorís". Cápsulas Genealógicas en Areíto: Sección Sabatina del diario "Hoy" (in Spanish). Instituto Dominicano de Genealogía. Retrieved 24 August 2014. 
  2. ^ Superficies a nivel de municipios, Oficina Nacional de Estadistica
  4. ^ Censo 2012 de Población y Vivienda, Oficina Nacional de Estadistica