The town is named after Capitán General José Basco, who led the pacification and conquest of the islands during his term as governor-general.

[9] Also in the same year, the sitios of Coral, Hago, Tuva, Diojango, Canalaan, Honaan and Dimnalamay were converted into the barrio of San Joaquin.

Compared to cities down south such as Laoag or Manila, it has a slightly cooler temperatures especially during the winter months due to its northerly location.

Poverty incidence of Basco Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] Basco, belonging to the lone congressional district of the province of Batanes, is governed by a mayor designated as its local chief executive and by a municipal council as its legislative body in accordance with the Local Government Code.

Planes from Basco Airport are bound to only three places: (1) to Manila, served by PAL Express; (2) to Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, served by SkyPasada; and (3) to Itbayat Island, an island municipality of Batanes Province.