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Currently, Peñuelas has 16 educational institutions, a diagnosis and treatment center, postal and telephone services, radio stations, as well as primary and secondary roads. The economy is based mainly on coffee, produce, cattle, and fishing. Although during the 1950s this towntown, founding: A group of vecinos that wanted to found a town had to grant a power of attorney to one or more other vecinos to represent them before the governor and viceroy. This person could authorize the founding of the town and the establishment of a parish. The grantors of the power of attorney had to be a majority in the given territory and more than ten in number. Once the case had been made, the governor appointed a capitán poblador or settlement official to represent the vecinos and one or more delegates, who usually lived in nearby cabildos vecinos to receive the necessary documentation. Proof was required that the settlement was so far from a church that it was very difficult for the settlers to partake of sacraments and municipal services. In general, proof was provided of the absence or bad condition of roads and bridges. If the petition was approved, it was required that the vecinos mark off the new municipality and build public works such as a church, a parish house, a government house (Casa del Rey), a slaughterhouse, and a cemetery, and to set aside land for the town square or plaza and the commons (ejidos). The vecinos were expected to cover the cost of building these works by levying special assessments. Usually one of the land owners donated some land for the founding. Once the requirements had been met, the governor authorized the founding of the town and the parish, and he appointed a Lieutenant at War who usually was the same capitán poblador. was considered an important center for the petrochemical industry, the industrialization process has stagnated.
Geography
Peñuelas is bordered by Adjuntas to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the south, Ponce to the east, and Guayanilla to the west. The municipality measures 44.51 square miles (117.87 square kilometers). It is located on the southern coastal plains, but the northern part of its territory is located in the central mountain range, where Macaná, Barreal, Jaguas, Quebrada Ceiba, and Rucio wards are located. Elevations in this area exceed 800 meters (2,625 feet) above sea level. Two of the elevations are mounts Peñuelas and Garrote, two of the twenty highest elevations in Puerto Rico. Also, one of the seven sections of the Guilarte State Forest is located in the northern part of this town (Barreal and Jaguas wards). The Tallaboa Valley, which is comprised of the Tallaboa River and the surrounding alluvial plain, is also located in this municipality. The rest of the land is characterized by slight undulations and plains that reach into the lowlands in Tallaboa Poniente ward. This ward is located on the coast, were there are two promontories, Gotay and Guayanilla, as well as the Tallaboa Bay. Palomas, Parguera, Caribe, María Langa, and Rio (the largest) keys face the bay. There are also 30 hectares (about 74 acres) of red mangrove in this area. Mapancha Cave is located in Coto ward in Peñuelas.
The hydrographic system consists of the Macaná and Tallaboa rivers. The former rises from the northeast in Macaná ward and flows down through Guayanilla. It is 11 kilometers (7 miles) long from the source to Guayanilla Bay, and it has one tributary, De los Cedros brook. The Tallaboa River springs from the northern part of Rucio ward and is 22.5 kilometers (14 miles) long. This river flows only through Peñuelas, and its tributaries are the Guayanés River, which originates in Jaguas ward. Two of its tributaries are Ceiba and Barreal brooks. The Garzas waterfall located on this river is a result of the abrupt steepening of the land.
Version: 08021701 Rev. 1
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