ELIAS PIA

History[change | change source]

Few people lived in the territory of Elas Pia during colonial times because it was on the
border between two colonies: the French Saint-Domingue and the Spanish Santo Domingo.
After 1844, the region became part of the border between Haiti and Dominican Republic.
The only town founded during the colony was Bnica, in the eastern end of a region of
many savannas that was called Oncano by the Spanish; most of Oncano is now part of
the Centre Department of Haiti. Both Comendador and Hondo Valle were military posts on
the border after the Dominican independence. The rest of the present province had very
few people until the end of the Restoration War in 1865 when families from other parts of
the country came to live here.
During the Dominican-Haitian War (1844-1856), Haitian soldiers came across this region;
because of that, there were many fights here. The most important fight was La Estrelleta
Battle, in a savanna to the east of Comendador.
Since colonial times, the territory was part of the Azua province until it was changed to
the Benefactor province (now the San Juan province) when this province was created in
1938.
The Elas Pia province was created in 1942 with the municipalities of Elas Pia
and Bnica; the new province was named San Rafael and its capital was the city of Elas
Pia. In 1965, the name of the province was changed to La Estrelleta and later, in 1972, it
was changed to Elas Pia and the capital got its old name of Comendador.[3]
Pedro Santana became a municipality of the province in 1952, El Llano in 1974, Hondo
Valle in 1978 and Juan Santiago in 2005.[3]
The municipal districts of the province were created in:[3]

1992 : Ro Limpio
2004 : Sabana Larga
2005 : Guanito and Sabana Cruz
2006 : Guayabo, Sabana Higero and Rancho de la Guardia

Population[change | change source]

In 2010 (last national census), there were 63,029 people living in the Elas Pia province,
and only 30,429 (48.3%) living in towns and cities. The population density was 45.2
persons/km, one of the lowest in the country.[1]
Its population represents 0.67% of the total population of the country and the province
is ranked as the 28th (out of 31 plus the National District) more populated province.
As of 2016, the total estimated propulation of the province is 63,449 inhabitants.[4]
The largest city of the province is Comendador, its head municipality or capital, with
an urban population (in 2010) of 12,400 inhabitants.[1]

Geography[change | change source]

The Elas Pia province has a total area of 1,395.5 km2 (538.8 sq mi).[1] It has 2.9% of the
area of the Dominican Republic and it is ranked as the 14th (out of 31 plus the National
District) largest province.
There are two main roads in the province. One, Carretera Snchez (Snchez National
Road), goes through the central part of the province from east to west; this is one of the
main road of the country and goes from Santo Domingo to the western part of the country,
to Comendador.
ELIAS PIA
The second main road goes from south to north; it starts in the Snchez National Road
at Matayaya (San Juan province) and goes through Bnica and Pedro Santana and then
through the Dajabn and Monte Cristi provinces to end in San Fernando de Monte Cristi,
on the north coast. This road, for several kilometres north of Pedro Santana, marks the
border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti and, for that reason, is called
"International Road".
There are other secondary roads. One of them goes from Comendador to Hondo Valle and
then to the Independencia province, crossing the Sierra de Neiba mountain range.

Mountains[change | change source]

Two mountain ranges crosses the province from east to west and then into Haiti. The
Cordillera Central ("Central mountain range") is in the northern part of the province, and the
Sierra de Neiba runs across the southern half. The area between those two mountain
ranges is composed of several valleys, formed by the Artibonite River and its tributaries,
and low mountains (hills).
The highest mountain in the province is the Loma La Tasajera del Chivito at 2,179 m
(7,149 ft) above sea level in the Sierra de Neiba. Nalga de Maco, 1,990 m (6,529 ft) high (
191235.35N 712848.32E), is the second highest mountain, in the northeast corner
of the province, close to the Santiago Rodrguez province. It is the highest mountain in the
western Cordillera Central.[5]

Rivers[change | change source]

The main river is the Artibonite that, in some places, marks the Dominican-Haitian border.
Other rivers are Macasas, Tocino, Joca and Vallecito, all of them tributaries of the
Artibonite river. The Caa river is the most important in the southern part of the province,
going from south to north; it is a tributary of the Macasas river.

Climate[change | change source]

The climate of the province is a tropical climate, hot most of the year, but it is cooler on the
mountains.

Municipalities[change | change source]

There are 6 municipalities and 7 municipal districts (M.D.) in the province.[3] The
municipalities and its municipal districts (M.D.) are: