Manatí is a city and municipality on Puerto Rico's northern coast, about 25 miles west of San Juan along the island's principal north-coast corridor. It borders Barceloneta and Florida to the west, Vega Baja to the east, and the rugged karst hills of Ciales and Morovis to the south. The municipality combines a compact coastal plain with rolling limestone hills, and its shoreline faces the open Atlantic. The town was founded in 1738 by Don Pedro Menéndez Valdés and was the ninth municipality recognized by the Spanish Crown. Its name comes from the manatee, the sea mammal of the region's coastal waters, and the town carries two affectionate nicknames: "La Ciudad Metropolitana" and "La Atenas de Puerto Rico." The Iglesia Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, built in the 17th century, still stands in the town center, anchoring the barrio-pueblo around which the municipality grew. Manatí is one of Puerto Rico's principal industrial centers, particularly in pharmaceuticals. Major manufacturing campuses produce solid-dose medications and other medical products, and the sector draws on the island's deep pharmaceutical workforce. Alongside industry, Manatí retains an agricultural identity: it has long been regarded as the pineapple center of Puerto Rico, with additional cultivation of fruits, sugar cane, and coffee, and local farms supplying chefs across the island. The municipality's best-known landmark is Playa Mar Chiquita, where two limestone headlands enclose a half-moon cove of turquoise water—a natural pool protected from the open Atlantic that draws swimmers, snorkelers, and picnickers. Caves, blowholes, and tide pools line the adjacent coast. With roughly 38,000 residents, Manatí functions as a north-coast hub for commerce, health services, and manufacturing, while its barrios range from the historic downtown to hillside and coastal communities. The municipality's location keeps San Juan and its metropolitan services within an easy drive, while the beaches and karst countryside of the north coast define daily recreation.