Santa Cruz de Mao
Mao | |
|---|---|
 Sign in Mao, Dominican Republic | |
 Seal | |
  Santa Cruz de Mao Mao in the Dominican Republic | |
| Coordinates: 19°34′0″N 71°05′0″W / 19.56667°N 71.08333°W | |
| Country |  Dominican Republic |
| Province | Valverde |
| Founded | 1875 |
| Municipality since | 1882 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 423.60 km2 (163.55 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 78 m (256 ft) |
| Population (2019)[3] | |
| • Total | 207,818 |
| • Density | 490/km2 (1,300/sq mi) |
| • Demonym | Maeño(a) |
| Distance to – Santo Domingo | 210 km |
| Municipal Districts | 3 |
| Climate | BSh |
The Dominican city of Santa Cruz de Mao, or simply Mao, is the head municipality of the Valverde province, in the northwest of the country.
It is the largest city of the Dominican northwest and the centre of the region. Its name, a Taíno word, comes from the River Mao, near the city. Its nickname is Ciudad de los Bellos Atardeceres (English, "City of the Beautiful Sunsets"); this was given by Juan De Jesus Reyes, renowned poet and Dominican literary icon. There are no mountains to the west of the city and it is common to see a "red" sky at sunset; it is a very dry region and there is much dust in the air which gives the sky a red color.
- ^ Superficies a nivel de municipios, Oficina Nacional de Estadistica Archived 2009-04-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ De la Fuente, Santiago (1976). Geografía Dominicana (in Spanish). Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Editora Colegial Quisqueyana.
- ^ Censo 2012 de Población y Vivienda, Oficina Nacional de Estadistica