Samaná Bay


Samaná Bay is a bay in the eastern Dominican Republic. The Yuna River flows into Samaná Bay, and it is located south of the town of Samaná and the Samaná Peninsula.

Wildlife

Among its features are protected islands that serve as nesting sites for pelicans and frigatebirds, caves with Taíno pictographs and petroglyphs, and mangrove-lined river tributaries. It is a significant breeding site for the humpback whale in the Caribbean; the breeding season attracts many whale-watchers.

Geography

Samaná Bay lies along the boundary between the North American Plate and the Caribbean Plate. Two named fault lines run the length of Samaná Bay. These fault lines form the western terminal of the nineteen-degree fault, that runs north of Puerto Rico and most of Hispaniola to form the northern boundary of the Caribbean Plate. As such, the area is prone to earthquakes.

Landmarks

Adjoining the bay is Los Haitises National Park, which is popular with national and international ecotourist visitors. Samaná Bay also has 4-star hotels.
Contained within Samaná Bay is the island of Cayo Levantado also known as Bacardi Island.

History

The Franklin Pierce administration instructed a special agent to negotiate a treaty permitting the United States to establish a naval base in Samaná Bay, resulting in an agreement in October 1854. However, British and French envoys convinced the Dominican government to insert a stipulation that Dominican citizens be treated as white people in the United States, ending the chances of the treaty being ratified. Again, in the aftermath of the American Civil War, US Secretary of State William H. Seward formed a plan to purchase or lease Samaná Bay for the United States, which was then seeking bases for its navy in the Caribbean. However, the plan failed - partly due to hostility between Congress and President Johnson, making Congress reluctant to allocate funds for the purpose. Later efforts by the Grant Administration to purchase the bay, which soon expanded to annex all of the Dominican Republic also failed in the U.S. Senate.