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San JuanIndustrial city and capital of Puerto Rico; population (2000 est) 422,000; metropolitan area (1998 est) 2,004,100. It is a major port, exporting sugar, tobacco, coffee, and tropical fruits, mostly to the US mainland, and provides the world's busiest cruise-ship base. It stands on an island joined by a bridge to the north coast of Puerto Rico. Industries include tourism, banking, metalworking, publishing, cigars, sugar, and clothing. Products include chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machine tools, electronic equipment, textiles, cement, metals, plastics, and rum. History The Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León founded Puerto Rico's first settlement at nearby Caparra in 1508. In 1521, the settlement moved across the bay to its present site, and the city of San Juan was founded. Its El Morro fortress repelled various attacks, although the English (in 1598) and the Dutch (in 1625) temporarily took control. San Juan became an important port in the 18th and 19th centuries. During the Spanish-American War (1898), it passed to US control. | The city is the largest city, leading seaport, and chief manufacturing, financial, and tourist centre of Puerto Rico. It is part of an urban area which has developed from Caguas in the south to San Juan, and along the north coast from Fajardo through San Juan to Arecibo. |
Features The city is a major centre of higher education and culture, and its institutions, as well as the University of Puerto Rico (1903), include the Polytechnic University (1966), the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico (1912), the Sacred Heart University (1880), the Museum of Art and History (1979), the Pablo Casals Museum, and the Ponce de León Museum. Notable historic sites include the cathedral and the Church of San José, both dating from the 16th century, the massive El Morro fortress (1540), and the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista, dating from the 1520s, which contains the tomb of Juan Ponce de León, and the old fortresses of La Fortaleza (1533, restored 1992) and the Castillo de San Cristóbal (1634). Old San Juan has more than 400 restored 16th- and 17th-century Spanish colonial buildings and is a World Heritage Site. Attracted by such historic associations, as well as by the tropical climate, first-class beaches, and casinos, more tourists visit San Juan each year than any other Caribbean resort. |
| The city can be seriously affected by hurricanes. Hurricane Georges in September 1998 caused a number of deaths, as well as some US$2 billion of damage to property. |
San Juan| Capital of the province of San Juan, in western Argentina, on the banks of the San Juan River; population (2001) 112,800. It is the commercial and industrial centre of the province, trading in the products of the area, especially wine. |
| San Juan was founded in 1562. It was the birthplace of Domingo Sarmiento, president of Argentina 1868–74. The city was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1944. |
San Juan| Andean province in western Argentina, adjoining Chile in the west; area 89,651 sq km/34,614 sq mi; population (1996) 528,715. The capital is the city of San Juan. Wine-growing is the main form of agriculture, and fruit is produced. Cattle farming is also important. Various minerals – gold, silver, lead, limestone, marble, sandstone, aluminium, sulphate, and gypsum – are mined on a small scale. |
| Apart from its southeastern region, San Juan is very mountainous, but its river valleys, fed by the snow and glaciers of the Andes, make intensive cultivation viable despite the semi-arid climate. As a result, the province is relatively prosperous. |
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