poniente

Poniente is a term used in Spanish to denote the western part of a place, the direction toward the west, or a western influence. It functions as both a noun (el poniente) and an adjective (zona poniente) and is often paired with oriente, the eastern counterpart, in geographic and urban planning contexts.

In geography and urban planning, poniente commonly appears in the designation of sectors, districts, or neighborhoods located to the west of a city or region. It helps define administrative boundaries, zoning, and travel routes by orientation rather than by formal names alone.

In meteorology and daily language, poniente can describe a wind coming from the west. Weather reports may reference a "viento poniente" to indicate prevailing western winds, and the term can be used more broadly to characterize western climatic influences in a given area.

Toponymy often uses Poniente as a place name or descriptor within the names of streets, neighborhoods, or municipalities to signal western location relative to a central point of reference. As a result, many Spanish-speaking locales employ Poniente to convey geography and orientation without requiring additional qualifiers.

See also: Oriente, Occidente.