Altamira is a town in the Puerto Plata Province of the Dominican Republic. The town's name is the subject of at least two different origin traditions. One asserts that when Christopher Columbus first arrived in the area, he took note of the height of the mountains and exclaimed: "Look at the heights." Another reports that the name is based on the geographical resemblance of the region to Spain's Altamira Caves. On October 29, 1889, President Ulises Heureaux declared the town a municipality.