+

Did you know…?

Created by Abigail Diaz

Information provided by: Zaine Deane Puerto Rico Travel Expert

What makes

Puerto Rico so

unique?

+These ten facts about Puerto Rico?

◼ Visitors to Puerto Rico tend to have a general idea

of what to expect from the island: great beaches, a

sizzling nightlife, and all the advantages of a

premier Caribbean travel destination. But here are

a few things you may not know about Puerto Rico

...

+Arecibo radio telescope

◼ 1. The 2nd world's largest single-dish radio telescope was

located in Puerto Rico. It measures 1,000 feet in diameter

◼ The movie Contact and in the climactic last scene in the

James Bond movie Goldeneye, the (inevitable) showdown

between 007 and the bad guy takes place right here.

+ Arecibo radio telescope Unfortunately, on August 10, 2020 a large cable snapped and

destroyed part of the satellite’s structure. Engineers were revising

damages to repair. On November 17,2021 the structure’s remains

collapsed.

◼ PUERTO RICO

Puerto Rico: accidente en Observatorio de Arecibo causa daños y se detienen las operaciones

+Watch the video of the structure’s remains

collapsing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgqrRy96z_0

+2. Puerto Rico is roughly the size

of Connecticut.

◼ If it was a state, it would be down near the bottom of the list in

terms of size, and that includes the network of islands around

the mainland.

+3. El Yunque is the only tropical

rainforest in the U.S. National Forest

System.

Just a few hours

from the ritzy

resorts of San Juan,

Trail hikes,

waterfalls, grand

vistas and a variety

of birds, flora, and

some wildlife await

you. You'll also be

happy to know that

there are no

dangerous animals

in the rainforest.

+4. Puerto Rico was "discovered"

by Christopher Columbus.

◼ That's right, it was Chris himself who landed on these shores

and claimed it for Spain. For those of you who are counting,

that makes Puerto Rico the oldest European city under the

American flag. It's also interesting to note that Columbus

wasn't exactly enamored with the place. He spent two days

here, declared it part of Spain, and never returned.

+5. Puerto Rico's unofficial mascot is

a tiny tree frog found only on the

island.

The inch-long amphibian has a powerful and melodic voice, and its

high-pitched, cheerful song can be heard for miles.

+6. More than 70% of the rum sold in

the U.S. comes from Puerto Rico.

Bacardi and Don Q are the largest

producers on the island. Puerto Rico is

the only rum-producer in the world to

maintain a minimum aging law for its

rum. You can get three main

categories of rum here: light, dark,

and añejo, or aged.

+7. San Juan is the second largest

cruise port in the western

hemisphere.

Cruise lovers, and Caribbean

cruise lovers in particular, are

probably quite familiar with Puerto

Rico and its capital. How popular is

San Juan among cruise

aficionados? It's the largest hub in

the Caribbean, and a major port of

call for almost every cruise ship

heading this way.

+8. Two of the oldest churches in

the Americas lie in Old San

Juan.Built in the 1530s, the Iglesia de San José

(or "Church of San José") in Old San Juan

is the second oldest church in the

western hemisphere, and a wonderful

example of Spanish gothic architecture.

More famous (and beautiful) is the

Catedral de San Juan (or "San Juan

Cathedral"), which is merely steps away

on Cristo Street. The most important

religious landmark in Puerto Rico.

San Jose Church restored

+9. Puerto Rico has its own

"Galapagos Island."

◼ Off the western shore of mainland

Puerto Rico, (roughly 50 miles away

from Mayagüez) lies Mona Island,

which has been compared to the

Galapagos island for its unspoiled-

by-man natural beauty and its colony

of iguanas, which practically overrun

the place. The Mona Iguana, found

nowhere else on the planet, is the

star of the show here. While the

iguanas are benign creatures, they're

not easy to visit because the island is

protected.

+10. Puerto Rico has over 270

miles of beaches.

Puerto Rico has a

tremendous

variety of

beaches. You

might even need

a guide to help

you figure out

which beach to

go to.

+

Students from the Interamerican University

of Puerto Rico’s School of Engineering in

Bayamón made history. They have designed

and developed the first Puerto Rican satellite

that NASA has launched into space. The

satellite, known as the PR-CuNaR2, will take

its maiden voyage as part of Mission 23 for

Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX.

11. First Puerto Rican Satellite

known as PR-CuNaR2

The Puerto Rico CubeSat NanoRocks-2 (PR-CuNaR2), was

launched into space at 3:37 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 28 from

Cape Canaveral, Florida. As part of Mission 23 of the SpaceX

company.

+So, I hope you enjoyed the presentation.

Now, we will be working with the

journal assignment.

Writing

Journal assignments are

paragraphs that you will

write about on a specific

topic.

+Directions: Do the Journal assignment.Write a paragraph minimum 5-10 sentences. Remember to

include transitions or signal words.

What do you think makes Puerto

Rico so unique?

Transitions

FirstNextThenAlsoIn additionFinally

+The End

Begin writing your journal

assignment.