Cabo Rojo (, ) is a city and municipality situated on the southwest coast of Puerto Rico and forms part of the San Germán–Cabo Rojo metropolitan area as well as the larger Mayagüez–San Germán–Cabo Rojo Combined Statistical Area.

History

The area near Las Salinas (salt flats) has been inhabited since 30 BC to 1200 AD according to archaeological evidence. Punta Ostiones, listed in the National Register of Historic Places as an archeological site, was home to a large group of Archaic Indians.

Despite the threat of pirates and natives, the Spanish settled the area of Los Morrillos around 1511. By 1525, salt mining was an important industry in the area. In 1759 the first request to establish itself as a town was denied. Cabo Rojo was founded on December 17, 1771, by Nicolás Ramírez de Arellano, a descendant of Spanish nobility, with the approval of Governor and Captain General Miguel de Muesas. According to Fray Iñigo Abbad y Lasierra, by the end of 1776, Cabo Rojo had a population of 1,215 people.

Cabo Rojo (red cape in English) derives its name from both the reddish color of its salt-flats and the reddish tint that characterizes the seaside cliffs along its southern coast. According to legend, the name was given by Christopher Columbus himself. The first church, founded in 1783, was called San José. The present-day main Catholic church is called San Miguel Arcángel Church located in the town's square.

Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became an unincorporated territory of the United States. On October 18, 1898, formal possession of the island was assumed and the American flag raised over the fortifications from which the emblem of Spain had flown for nearly four centuries.

Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, causing large-scale damage and destruction to infrastructure. In Cabo Rojo, around 400 homes lost their roof, and three thousand residents were left without drinking water as a result of Hurricane María. The coastal fishing village of Joyuda was the most impacted area of Cabo Rojo.

Geography

thumb|Picture of Cabo Rojo taken during [[Expedition 53|ISS Expedition 53]]

The municipality of Cabo Rojo lies on the southern-west corner of the island of Puerto Rico, on the Western Coastal Plains. Sierra Bermeja, Puerto Rico's geologically oldest mountain range, crosses the municipality from west to east towards Lajas. It is bordered by Mayagüez and Hormigueros to the north, San Germán and Lajas to the east, the Caribbean Sea to the south and the Mona Passage to the west. Cabo Rojo has a surface area of 72 square miles (187&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>).

Cabo Rojo's terrain is flat, however, some notable peaks are Mariquita, Buena Vista, Cerro Vargas, and Peñones de Melones. The saline deposits at Cabo Rojo are one of the few places in the world where microbial carpets can be found. <!-- ref></ref -->

Barrios

thumb|Subdivisions of Cabo Rojo

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Cabo Rojo is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a small barrio referred to as , near the center of the municipality. Cabo Rojo is a principal municipality of the San Germán–Cabo Rojo metropolitan area as well as the larger Mayagüez–San Germán–Cabo Rojo Combined Statistical Area.

  1. Bajura
  2. Boquerón
  3. Cabo Rojo barrio-pueblo
  4. Guanajibo
  5. Llanos Costa
  6. Llanos Tuna
  7. Miradero
  8. Monte Grande
  9. Pedernales

People from the El Combate community in barrio Boquerón are known as mata con hacha ("those who kill with axes") based on an old folk tale about a fight over the salinas, where those from Cabo Rojo fought with axes against people from the adjacent town of Lajas. The latter apparently fought back by throwing stones and are thus known as tira piedras ("those who throw stones").

Sectors

Barrios (which are like minor civil divisions) are further subdivided into smaller areas called (sectors in English). The types of sectores may vary, from normally sector to urbanización to reparto to barriada to residencial, among others.

Special Communities

(Special Communities of Puerto Rico) are marginalized communities whose citizens are experiencing a certain amount of social exclusion. A map shows these communities occur in nearly every municipality of the commonwealth. Of the 742 places that were on the list in 2014, the following barrios, communities, sectors, or neighborhoods were in Cabo Rojo: Ballajá, Colacho, El Fuego y Las Piedras (Guaniquilla), Hoyo Bravo, Las Quebradas en Monte Grande, Pedernales, Puerto Real, and Sector Corozo.

Climate

Demographics

In 1899, the United States Department of War conducted a census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Cabo Rojo was 16,154.