It is located between the Greater and Lesser Antilles in the northeastern Caribbean Sea, east of Hispaniola, west of Saint Thomas, north of Venezuela, and south of the Puerto Rico Trench.

[20] The highest elevation point in Puerto Rico, Cerro de Punta (4,390 feet or 1,338 meters),[21] is located in the Cordillera Central, while El Yunque, one of the most popular peaks in Puerto Rico, located in the Sierra de Luquillo and part of El Yunque National Forest, has a maximum elevation of 3,540 feet (1,080 m).

The main island has seven valleys: Caguas, Yabucoa, Lajas, Añasco, the Coloso and Culebrinas, Cibuco, and Guanajibo.

The capital, San Juan, and its metropolitan area are located on the northern coastal plain in the northeast.

[20] The archipelago of Puerto Rico has numerous protected nature areas, including the nature reserves of La Cordillera in the Sonda de Vieques (Vieques Sound) and Media Luna (''half moon'') in Lajas, the wildlife refuge in Cabo Rojo and Desecheo, the estuarine research reserve of Bahía de Jobos in Salinas, and the national park of the El Yunque forest in Rio Grande.

The highest elevation in Puerto Rico, Cerro de Punta at 4,393 feet (1,339 m),[22] is located in this range.

The oldest rocks are approximately 190 million years old (Jurassic) and are located at Sierra Bermeja along the Lajas Valley in the southwest part of the island.

The archipelago of Puerto Rico is located between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Hispaniola and west of the Virgin Islands.

Located in the northeastern Caribbean Sea, Puerto Rico was key to the Spanish Empire since the early years of exploration, conquest and colonization of the New World.

Most of these rivers are born in the Cordillera Central, Puerto Rico's principal mountain range located across the center of the island.

It is also home to more than 240 plants, 26 of which are endemic, and 50 bird species, including the critically endangered Puerto Rican amazon (Amazona vittata).

At this site, there are four main life zones, delineated on the basis of temperature and precipitation (Holdridge System), in the Sierra de Luquillo: subtropical wet and subtropical rain forests are found at low and mid elevations, lower montane rain and lower montane wet forests at high elevations.

The most common are Prestoea acuminata, Casearia arborea, Dacryodes excelsa, Manilkara bidentata, Inga laurina, and Sloanea berteroana.

Grasses, ferns, and forbs are frequent on the ground, especially in canopy gaps; epiphytes are fairly common, and vines are uncommon.

About his model Fernandez has been known to comment, "Soy de aquí como el coquí" (I am from here just like the coqui), a common patriotic axiom that is used to demonstrate their native ties to the island.

[35] As an unincorporated territory of the United States, Puerto Rico does not have any first-order administrative divisions as defined by the U.S. Government, but there are 78 municipalities at the second level.

[36] Under Spanish rule, as of the 1880s, Puerto Rico was subdivided into regional districts (or "departamentos") that contained smaller ayuntamientos (municipalities).

[37] Since the European colonization of Puerto Rico in the early 1500s, the geographic location of the main island has been recognized for its strategic significance and accessibility.

During the Age of Exploration and Sail, Puerto Rico was known to the Spanish as La Llave de las Indias (The Key to the Indies),[41] as it was the closest European-settled major area of land in the Americas to both continental Europe and Africa with open access to the Atlantic Ocean.

which, translated in English, reads as: "…being the front and vanguard of all my West Indies, and with respect to its consequences, the most appreciated of them and coveted by the enemies."

In 1643, the king reiterated the importance of Puerto Rico to the Spanish Empire as: "…primera de las pobladas y principal custodia y llave de todas…" which, translated in English, reads as: "…first of the populated ones and principal custodian and key of all…" As an unincorporated territory of the United States, the geostrategic location of Puerto Rico was paramount in the construction of the Panama Canal, and the defense of the Western Hemesphere against Nazi Operation Neuland in the Battle of the Caribbean during WWII.