Samaná, in full Santa Bárbara de Samaná, is a city and municipality in northeastern Dominican Republic and is the capital of Samaná Province. It is located on the northern coast of Samaná Bay. The city is an important tourism destination and is the main center for whale-watching tours.

Geography

Samaná is located in a small plain close to the coast but, now, most of the city is in the hills that enclose the plain.

It is the largest municipality of the province. It has a total area of 412.11 km² (almost 49% of the total area of the province), including the three municipal districts that are part of the municipality.

Most of the territory is occupied by the Sierra de Samaná, a short mountain range with steep slopes but no high mountains. The highest mountain is Monte Mesa (605 m).^[2]

The mean annual rainfall in Samaná is 2,349.8 mm and the mean annual temperature is 26.5°C.

Population

The municipality had a total population of 51,501: 26,317 men and 25,184 women, as of 2002. The urban population was 79.24% of the total population.^[3] This includes the population of the municipal districts Arroyo Barril, El Limón, and Las Galeras.

The demonym for the inhabitants of Samaná, both the city and the province, is samanés (men and women). It is also possible to use samanense.

History

The city was founded in 1756 as Santa Bárbara de Samaná during the colonial period by the Spanish governor Francisco Rubio y Peñaranda. Families from the Canary Islands were brought to live in this city and Sabana de la Mar.

It was named Santa Bárbara after the Queen Bárbara de Braganza, wife of King Ferdinand VI of Spain.

With the creation of the Samaná Maritime District (an old division similar to a province) in 1865, the city was elevated to the category of municipality.