Elias Pina Province

Elías Piña is one of the 32 provinces of the Dominican Republic located in the west of the country, on the border with Haiti. It limits to the north with the provinces of Dajabón and Santiago Rodríguez, to the east with San Juan, to the south with Independencia and to the west with the Republic of Haiti. The provincial capital is the Municipality of Comendador.

It was created in 1942, during the Trujillo era, with the name of Provincia San Rafael in honor of the tyrant, whose name was Rafael. In 1965 it was named Estrelleta Province and, finally, in 1972 it was given its current name. Before its creation, it was a municipality in the San Juan province.

Etymology

The name of the province is in honor of Colonel Elías Piña of the militia, a native of La Margarita, a place in Comendador in this province. He fought in the border area during the independence struggles, dying in 1845 while attacking a Haitian fortified position near Bánica.

Administrative Division

The Elias Piña province is divided into 6 municipalities and 7 municipal districts.

• Comendador

Long sheet

Guava tree

• BANK

Savannah Cruz

Sabana Higuero

• The plain

Guanito

• Juan Santiago

• Hondo Valle

Guardian Ranch

• Pedro Santana

Clean river

Historical aspects

Municipality of Comndador

The region occupied by the current Elías Piña province had a low human occupation since it was located on the border between the colonies of Saint-Domingue (French) and Santo Domingo (Spanish), and then on the border of the two independent countries derived from said colonies (Haiti and the Dominican Republic).

The only settlement founded during the colony was Bánica, at the eastern end of the Ocean, an area of extensive savannahs that reached as far as the city of Hincha (known as Hinche in Haiti). Both Comendador and Hondo Valle originated from border military posts established after national independence. All the rest of the current province was practically depopulated until after the Restoration War when families from other parts of the country began to arrive.

CESFRONT Fortress in Comendador, Elías Piña Province

During the Dominican-Haitian War (1844-1856), Haitian troops crossed this region, which led to several conflicts, including the confrontations to dominate the fort of Cachimán (now in Haiti) and, especially, the Battle of La Estrelleta.

Since colonial times, the territory of the colony belonged to the province of Azua until it became part of the province of Benefactor (now San Juan) when said province was created in 1938. Within the plans of "Dominicanization from the border" of the dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, this province was created in 1942.

Population

According to the 2010 Population Census, the population of the province was 63,879 people: 32,986 men and 30,893 women. Its population density is 45 inhabitants/km², one of the lowest in the country. Of the total population, 23,203 (36.32%) lived in urban areas.

Evolution

Geography

Orography

The province could be divided into three large physiographic regions: the Sierra de Neiba to the south, the Cordillera Central to the north, and the central part, part of the Artibonite basin and its tributaries. This central part consists of small valleys separated by low hills.

The highest mountain is the hill La Tasajera del Chivito, at 2179 m, on the northern slope of the Sierra de Neiba. In the Central Cordillera, the highest mountain in the province is Nalga de Maco with 1990 m, in the northeast of the province, close to Santiago Rodríguez province. This mountain is the highest in the western Central Cordillera.

Hydrography

The main river is the Artibonite, which forms the border with Haiti for several kilometers and originates near Nalga de Maco. All other rivers are tributaries, direct or indirect, of the Artibonite. Other rivers are the Macasías, Tocino, Joca and Caña (also called Caño).

Climate

In the lowlands, the climate is warm, with average annual temperatures of 26.7 °C in Comendador and 25.4 °C in Bánica. As the altitude increases, both in the north and in the south of the province, the temperature decreases; In Hondo Valle, the average annual temperature is 21.2 °C.

While rainfall in the mountains is high and relatively well distributed throughout the year (1717 mm in Hondo Valle), in the lowlands the climate tends to be arid due to low rainfall for several months. In Comendador, the annual average is 1828 mm but most of it occurs from April to October. In Bánica, precipitation is less and concentrated between May and October.

Vegetation

In the lowlands, the vegetation is typically savannah, especially due to the long period of low rainfall during autumn and winter. Only in the proximities of the rivers are developed forests.

In the mountains it is possible to distinguish two types of vegetation: pine forests, with the dominant presence of Creole pine (Pinus occidentalis), and humid forest. Both the humid forests and the pine forests have been greatly affected by logging and migratory cultivation; only in a few places are native forests intact.

Economy

As in all border provinces, there is little overall economic development. There is an important commercial traffic with Haiti, especially in Comendador. Agricultural production is limited to minor crops and goat and sheep rearing on a small scale. In the southern part, in the Sierra de Neiba, there is production of coffee, potatoes and beans.

Communications

The province only has communication by land, by highways. The Carretera Sánchez, which originates in Santo Domingo, ends in Comendador. There is also the International Highway which, in some sections, is shared between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The other highways in the province are of minor category.

Tourism

Tourism is almost nil. We can only mention the pilgrimages that are made to the Cerro de San Francisco, in Bánica. Said hill is a protected area with the category of natural monument.

There are two national parks in the province: the Nalga de Maco National Park, in the northeast, and the Sierra de Neiba National Park, in the south. But neither of them presents a notable ecotourism development.