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Luquillo Food Kiosks

The municipality of Luquillo is known as the "City of Eternal Summer," the "Sunshine Capital" and the "Puerto Rico Riviera." The nicknames for residents are "the tourists" and "the coconut eaters." The population of Luquillo is 19,817 (2000 Census). The residents are called luquillenses. The municipality is divided into the sectors of Mameyes, Pueblo, Mata de Plátano, Pitahaya, Juan Martín and Sabana.

The main economic activities are manufacturing, tourism, livestock and agriculture. Factories producing articles of clothing, electrical equipment, industrial machinery, and metal and leather products do business in Luquillo. The construction industry has also developed notably in this coastal municipality.

Geography

Luquillo is located in the northeast of the island. It is bordered on the north by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south and the east by Fajardo and on the west by Río Grande. It covers 67 square kilometers (26 square miles) in area.

The municipality is part of the northern coastal plains region. It is a very fertile alluvial plain. Although the majority of the territory is flat, there are some lower elevation mountains in the south and southeast that are part of the Luquillo Range and rise to about 500 meters (1,640 feet) above sea level. Along the coast, between the sectors of Juan Martín de Luquillo and Quebrada Fajardo of Fajardo, are the Barros and Zalduondo peaks. These do not surpass 227 meters (748 feet) in elevation.

The Caribbean National Forest, also known as El Yunque, forms part of the mountainous zone of the Luquillo Range. It is 11,330 hectares (28,000 acres) in size and lies in the municipalities of Luquillo, Río Grande, Naguabo, Fajardo, Ceiba, Canóvanas and Las Piedras. The highest point in the forest is El Toro or Guzmán Arriba peak, which rises 1,074 meters (3,523 feet) above sea level. The forest was declared a reserve in 1876 by the Spanish government.

Rivers in Luquillo include the Mameyes; Sabana and its tributaries, the Pitahaya, Cristal and Camándulas; Juan Martín; and the Mata de Plátano stream. The Sabana and Juan Martín rivers originate in Luquillo and measure approximately 12.6 kilometers (7.6 miles) and 5.7 kilometers (3.4 miles) respectively. The Mameyes River originates in Río Grande.

The municipality is also known for the beautiful Luquillo Beach and the Embarcadero and La Bandera points. It also has 20 hectares of mangroves, both swamps and rivers. Additionally, almost double that amount of mangroves are located in the mouth of the Mameyes River, between Río Grande and Luquillo. Gold and other associated minerals have been found in Luquillo, along with a limited quantity of copper.