Aguadilla is a municipality on the northwest coast of Puerto Rico, in the Western Coastal Plains of the island. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the municipality of Isabela to the east, and Moca and Aguada to the south. At the 2020 census its population was about 55,000, distributed across roughly 38 barrios, making it a mid-sized center of the island's west coast. The town's origins date to 1775, when its founding was approved under Don Luis de Córdova, and it grew from a small coastal settlement into an important fishing and trading community before being officially established in 1780. The name is associated with water — "aguada" — and the settlement developed around its natural harbor and shoreline. The Punta Borinquen Lighthouse, completed in 1889, remains a landmark of the coast. In the twentieth century, the area became a strategic military site. The United States built Borinquen Field, later Ramey Air Force Base, at Punta Borinquen, and after the base's closure the property was redeveloped into Rafael Hernández International Airport, which now serves Puerto Rico's west coast; the U.S. Coast Guard maintains Air Station Borinquen there as well. Today Aguadilla is best known as a beach and surf destination. Crash Boat Beach is among the most iconic beaches in Puerto Rico, and Surfers Beach and Survival Beach draw wave riders from around the world. Surf tourism, boating, and outdoor recreation anchor the economy, while the University of Puerto Rico maintains a regional campus in the city. Aguadilla's combination of beach culture, an international airport, and a working town center makes it a distinctive hub of northwestern Puerto Rico.