Utuao is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central/western mountainous region of the island known as La Cordillera Central. It is located north of Adjuntas and Ponce; south of Hatillo and Arecibo; east of Lares; and west of Ciales and Jayuya. In land area it is the third largest municipality in Puerto Rico (after Arecibo and Ponce). According to the 2000 US Census the city has a population of 35,336 spread over 24 wards and Utuado Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). The name Utuado derives from the Taíno word “otoao", meaning "between mountains."