A GAZETTEER OF PORTO RICO. 
By Henry Gannett. 
introduction. 
Porto Rico is the fourth in size of the West Indian Islands, being 
exceeded by Cuba, Haiti, and Jamaica. Its area, as measured from 
the best map available — that issued in 1809 by the War Department, 
on a scale of 1:150,000 — is 3,600 square miles. There is, however, 
much uncertainty concerning the accuracy of these figures, as the 
coast line of the island has never been carefully surveyed. It lies 
east of Haiti, between latitudes 17° 50' and 18° 30' N., and between 
longitudes 65° 30' and 67° 15' W. 
Under the jurisdiction of Porto Rico, as a colony of Spain and sub- 
sequently as a dependency of the United States, are included, besides 
the island of Porto Rico, the small islands Vieques and Culebra to 
the east and Mona to the west, as well as a number of islets adjacent 
to the coast. 
The Indian name of the island was Borinquen. The name Porto 
Rico is a corruption of the proper name Puerto Rico, and is the form 
which has been in common use for centuries among English-speaking 
nations; the form Puerto Rico (rich harbor) being that in use by the 
residents of the island, by all Spanish-speaking peoples, and generally 
by other nations. The United States Board on Geographic Names, 
pursuing its principle of following local usage, adopted this form 
several years ago. Since the acquisition of the island by the United 
States, usage, even in the publications of the United States Govern- 
ment, became divided, some of them following the above decision, 
others using the form Porto Rico. In this condition of affairs, the 
Board appealed to the President of the United States for a decision, 
and the President decided in favor of Puerto Rico. Subsequently, 
however, in the Foraker bill for the government of Porto Rico, a 
clause was incorporated providing that the name be Porto Rico. This 
bill, agreed to by both Houses of Congress and signed b} r the Presi- 
dent, became law, and thus established the spelling of the name. 
Porto Rico is roughly rectangular in shape, with a length from east 
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