Location
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands. The territory is composed of an archipelago that includes the main island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller islands and keys, the largest of which are Vieques, Culebra, and Mona.

Size
Total area is 9,104 sq. km 3,515 sq. miles)
The main island of Puerto Rico is the smallest by land area but third largest by population among the four Greater Antilles (Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico)

History
The first settlers were the Ortoiroid people, a culture of Amerindian hunters and fishermen around 2000 BC. Between AD120 and 400 the Igneri tribe arrived and between the 4th and 10th centuries, the two tribes co-existed on the island. Between the 7th and 11th centuries the Taínos culture developed and became dominant around 1000 AD until Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492. The Spanish soon colonized the island and the native population was decimated by disease, violence and a high occurrence of suicide. Various forts were built to protect the port of San Juan from European enemies. In 1809, the supreme Central Junta recognized Puerto Rico as an overseas province of Spain. Toward the end of the 19th century, Ramón Emeterio Betances, considered the "father" of the Puerto Rican independence movement and his supporters persuaded the liberal Spanish government to agree to Charters of Autonomy for Cuba and Puerto Rico. On July 25, 1898, during the Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico was invaded by the United States. As an outcome of the war, Spain ceded Puerto Rico, along with Cuba, the Philippines, and Guam to the U.S. under the Treaty of Paris. In 1947, the U.S. granted Puerto Ricans the right to democratically elect their own governor. President Truman approved a local constitution on July 3, 1952. Puerto Rico adopted the name of Estado Libre Asociado, officially translated into English as Commonwealth, for its body politic. Since the summer of 2007, the Puerto Rico State Department has developed the protocol to grant Puerto Rican citizenship to Puerto Ricans.

Population
3,994,259

Capital
San Juan is located on the north central-east shore of the island.

Government
Puerto Rico's head of state is the President of the United States. The government of Puerto Rico, based on the formal republican system is composed of three branches: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. The Executive branch is headed by the Governor. The Legislative branch consists of a bicameral Legislative Assembly made up of a Senate upper chamber and a House of Representatives lower chamber. The Senate is headed by the President of the Senate, while the House of Representatives is headed by the Speaker of the House. The Judicial branch is headed by the Chief Justice of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court. The nature of Puerto Rico's political relationship with the U.S. is the subject of ongoing debate in Puerto Rico, the United States Congress, and the United Nations.

Language
Spanish is the primary language but English is also considered one of the official languages.

Climate
The average temperature in the winter is 73 F (22.7 degrees Celsius) and 85 F (29.4 Celsius) in the summer with year-round pleasant sea breezes. In the mountains, it is about 10 degrees cooler in both summer and winter. Average humidity is 55% during the day and 80% at night. Average rainfall is 52 inches and the rainy season is at its peak in August.

Tourism Activities & Sightseeing
Much of Puerto Rican culture centers on the influence of music. Sports, including baseball, boxing, basketball and volleyball are considered popular with many a world-class athlete coming from Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico boasts over 23 championship golf courses. San Juan with seven square blocks of cobbled streets and colonial architecture has culture, shopping, dining and dancing attractions The laidback atmosphere on Vieques with quaint inns and wild horses. The famous bioluminescent bay near the seaside town of La Parguera El Yunque is the only tropical rainforest managed by the U.S. Forest Service and boasts two waterfalls and many varieties of flora and fauna. Historic Old San Juan including El Morro Fortress; Casa Blanca, the ancestral home of the Ponce de Leon family; La Fortaleza, the oldest executive mansion in continuous use in the Western Hemisphere; Plaza San Jose; Pablo Casals Museum; Quincentennial Plaza; San Juan Cathedral; Plaza de Armas; Paseo de la Princesa. In Ponce, Puerto Rico's second city, Plaza Las Delicias, Parque de Bombas Firehouse, Casa Armstrong-Proventud, the Ponce Museum of Art, the Museum of Music, Serralles Castle (rum museum) and El Vigia. Las Cabezas de San Juan Nature Reserve. Arecibo Observatory. Phosphorescent Bay in Parguera and the Guanica and Guajataca Forest Reserves. El Yunque Rain Forest. Rum distilleries. Rio Camuy Cave Park. Hacienda Buena Vista (restored coffee plantation) near Ponce. Tibes and Caguana Indian sites in Ponce and Utuado.

Airports
US: Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, San Juan (SJU). Rafael Hernandez, Aguadilla (BQN). Mercedita, Ponce (PSE). Others: Antonio Neri Juarbe, Arecibo (ARE). Antonio Rivera Rodriquez, Vieques (VQS). Benjamín Rivera Noriega, Culebra (CPX). Diego Jimenez Torres, Fajardo (FAJ). Eugenio Maria de Hostos, Mayagüez (MAZ). Isla Grande Airport, San Juan (SIG).

Currency
United States dollar (USD)

Electricity
Electricity is 120 Volts, alternating at 60 cycles per second.

Time zone
GMT-4

Driving
On the right.

Flag

The Official Tourism Website of the Puerto Rico tourism Company
www.gotopuertorico.com