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 Taínocacicazgos or chiefdoms: Yagüecax, Otoao, Jatibonico, Guaynia and Turabon.[3][4] 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.[5]
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. The coffee cultivation and production 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 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.[6][7]
The first paved road to span the mountain range was the Carretera Central, which was functional by 1886 and completed in 1898, connecting San Juan in the Atlantic coast to Ponce in the Caribbean coast. Many of the workers involved in its construction were confined Chinese workers from Cuba between the years 1865 and 1880.[8] The original road goes through the municipalities of San Juan (formerly the municipality of Río Piedras), Guaynabo, Caguas, Cidra, Cayey, Aibonito, Coamo, Juana Díaz and Ponce. This was the most important engineering project built by the Spanish government 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 and US Army during the Puerto Rico campaign of the Spanish-American War of 1898.[9][10][11]
Geography
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.[2] 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 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.
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, forming the plains of the Valley of Maunabo between them.[12][13][14][15]
The northern edge of the Cordillera Central was formed throughout millions of years through the interactions between the North American 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 period, and what is the Cordillera Central today used to be the tips of small islands surrounding larger volcanic islands.[17][18]
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 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.[20]
The rivers and streams that originate in the mountains are home to species such as the 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 (Mormoops blainvillei), the greater bulldog bat (Noctilio leporinus) and the sooty mustached bat (Pteronotus quadridens). The invasive small Indian mongoose (Urva auropunctata) and black rat (Rattus rattus) are very common and considered a threat to many endangered native species.[26][27][28]
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 hurricane season), with the months between December and March being relatively the driest.[29]
Some of the lowest temperatures in Puerto Rico have been recorded in mountain towns and municipalities located on or along the Cordillera Central.[30][31] The lowest temperature ever recorded was of 38 °F (3 °C) in the eastern portion of the range at Aibonito in March 1911, followed by 40 °F (4 °C) in the central portion of the range at Adjuntas in 1966 and 1993.[32][33] Based on the current global climate patterns it is impossible for it to snow in the Cordillera Central or anywhere else in Puerto Rico.[34]
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.[35]
50 Highest mountain peaks in the Cordillera Central
^Pumarada O'Neill1 Castro Arroyo2, Luis1 Maria de los Angeles2 (1996). La Carretera Central: Un viaje escenico a la historia de Puerto Rico. San Juan: Centro de Investigacion y Desarrollo de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Mayagüez. ISBN0-9650011-2-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^"Puerto Rico", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 2021-09-23, retrieved 2021-10-12
^Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales. "Cuenca del Rio Grande de Loiza"(PDF). drna.pr.gov. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2016-12-24.
^Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales. "Geologia de Puerto Rico"(PDF). drna.pr.gov. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2016-12-24.
^Topographic Map of Barrio Anon, Ponce, PR. US Geological Survey. Lat/Long: 18.1523°N 66.5549°W. Elevation: 3,891 feet (1,186 meters). Drg Name: r18066b5. Drg Source Scale: 1:20,000. Projection: NAD83/WGS84. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
^Bosque Estatal de Guilarte.Archived October 22, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Hojas de Nuestro Ambiente. Publication # P-035. December 2008. Puerto Rico Depratmento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales. Retrieved 21 August 2013.