Puerto Rico - About the Country


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Outlook, Cueva ventana, Puerto Rico. Public Domain.

Puerto Rico geographically belongs to the Greater Antilles, politically it more or less belongs to the United States, as it is freely associated to the Commonwealth of the United States. It is the most eastern of the four major islands of the Greater Antilles. Puerto Rico measures 177 by 36 kilometers or 8,959 square kilometers. To the north lies the Atlantic Ocean, to the south the Caribbean Sea. The capital is San Juan.

The climate is classified as tropical marine, which means it’s typically sunny, hot, and humid year-round. Temperatures are between 24 °C and 31 °C in the coastal plains and between 23 °C and 25 °C in the mountains, and humidity is constant at 80 %. A north-easterly wind typically provides a pleasant breeze, especially on the north-east side of the island. There is no dry season, its rainy all year, but rains are generally brief and occur in the afternoons. The north coast receives twice as much rain as the south coast. Always have a raincoat with you. From May to October the rains are heavier than in the rest of the year, and it is also hurricane season. January to April is tourism high season and the driest part of the year.