San Cristóbal is a Dominican city and the head municipality of the San Cristóbal province.
The city is only 26 km (16 mi) from the national capital and, because of that, it is a city where many people live but work at Santo Domingo.
History
Since colonial times, there were many farms in the region; the main crop was sugarcane. There were several sugar factories with slaves.
But the town was founded during the first years of the 18th century by a Catholic priest: Juan de Jesús Fabian Ayala y García.
In 1822, the town was made a municipality by the Haitian government. In 1844, after the Dominican independence from Haiti, the city was made a municipality of the old Santo Domingo province.
The first Dominican constitution was written in San Cristóbal in 1844.
In 1932, San Cristóbal was made the head municipality of the new Trujillo Province; it had the name of Trujillo after the dictator Rafael Trujillo who was born in San Cristóbal. After Trujillo's death, the province was given the name of the main city: San Cristóbal.
Population
The municipality had, in 2014, a total population of 216,875: 106,855 men and 110,020 women. The urban population was 63.8% of the total population.[1]
Geography
San Cristóbal is in a small valley; the valley has small hills around it except along the Nigua river. Nigua is the most important river of the region; another river is Yubazo or Blanco, a tributary of Nigua.
San Cristóbal has a total area of 153.6 km2 (59 sq mi) (without including its municipal district), about 12.4% of the total area of the province of San Cristóbal.[1] The city is an elevation of 33 m (108 ft) above sea level,[2] and at 26 km (16 mi) to the west of Santo Domingo. It has only one municipal district (subdivisions of a municipality): Hato Damas.[3]
The municipality of San Cristóbal has the municipality of Villa Altagracia to the north, the Santo Domingo province and the municipality of Bajos de Haina to the east, the municipality of San Gregorio de Nigua and the Caribbean Sea to the south and the municipality of Yaguate to the west.
Climate
San Cristóbal has a tropical monsoonal climate (Köppen-Geiger classification: Am) with a dry season and a heavy monsoon the rest of year; there is not a cold season.[4]
The average amount of rainfall for the year in the city is 1,599.4 mm (63.0 in). The month with the most precipitation on average is May with 218.1 mm (8.6 in) of rainfall, followed by June with 214.8 mm (8.5 in).
The driest season is winter. The month with the least rainfall on average is February with an average of 51.1 mm (2.0 in) and the second is March with 52.9 mm (2.1 in).
San Cristóbal is in a warm region; the average temperature for the year is 26 °C (78.8 °F). The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of 27.4 °C (81.3 °F). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 24.3 °C (75.7 °F).
| Climate data for San Cristóbal (1961–1990)
|
| Month
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Year
|
| Average high °C (°F)
|
29.6
(85.3)
|
29.8
(85.6)
|
30.6
(87.1)
|
31.3
(88.3)
|
31.3
(88.3)
|
31.6
(88.9)
|
32.2
(90.0)
|
32.4
(90.3)
|
32.4
(90.3)
|
31.9
(89.4)
|
31.1
(88.0)
|
29.9
(85.8)
|
31.2
(88.1)
|
| Daily mean °C (°F)
|
24.3
(75.7)
|
24.4
(75.9)
|
25
(77)
|
25.9
(78.6)
|
26.4
(79.5)
|
26.9
(80.4)
|
27.4
(81.3)
|
27.4
(81.3)
|
27.2
(81.0)
|
26.8
(80.2)
|
25.9
(78.6)
|
24.8
(76.6)
|
26.0
(78.8)
|
| Average low °C (°F)
|
19.1
(66.4)
|
19
(66)
|
19.5
(67.1)
|
20.5
(68.9)
|
21.4
(70.5)
|
22.2
(72.0)
|
22.6
(72.7)
|
22.4
(72.3)
|
21.9
(71.4)
|
21.6
(70.9)
|
20.8
(69.4)
|
19.7
(67.5)
|
20.9
(69.6)
|
| Average rainfall mm (inches)
|
60.9
(2.40)
|
51.1
(2.01)
|
52.9
(2.08)
|
72.4
(2.85)
|
218.1
(8.59)
|
214.8
(8.46)
|
148.3
(5.84)
|
202.5
(7.97)
|
187.5
(7.38)
|
210.5
(8.29)
|
111.6
(4.39)
|
68.8
(2.71)
|
1,599.4
(62.97)
|
| Source 1: NOAA[5]
|
| Source 2: Climatemps.com[4]
|
Administrative division
The municipality of San Cristóbal has 1 municipal district:[3]
Municipal districts of San Cristóbal
| Code |
Municipal district |
Population
(2010)
|
| 210102 |
Hato Damas |
15,894
|
References
