Geography of The Dominican Republic - Relief

Relief

The Dominican Republic is a country with many mountains, and the highest peaks of the West Indies are found here. The chains of mountains show a direction northwest-southeast, except in the Southern peninsula (in Haiti) where they have a direction west-east. The mountains are separated by valleys with the same general direction.

From north to south, the mountain ranges and valleys are:

• Cordillera Septentrional (in English, "Northern Range"). It runs parallel to the north coast, with extensions to the northwest, the Tortuga Island, and to the southeast, the Samaná Peninsula (with its Sierra de Samaná). Its highest mountain is Diego de Ocampo, close to Santiago, with 1,249 m. There are several small plains between this range and the Atlantic Ocean. Rivers are short and most of them flow to the north.

• The Cibao Valley (Dominican Republic) is the largest and the most important valley of the country. This long valley stretches from North Haiti, where is called Plaine du Nord, to Samaná Bay. It can be divided in two sections: the northwestern part is the Yaque del Norte Valley (or Línea Noroeste) and the eastern Yuna Valley (or Vega Real, English: Royal Valley). The Vega Real is the most fertile area in the country, with a high population density.

• The Cordillera Central (also called Sierra del Cibao) is the island's most rugged and imposing feature and is known in Haiti as the Massif du Nord ("Northern Massif"). The highest mountains of the West Indies are in this range: Pico Duarte, 3,098 m, and others above 3,000 m. Near the center of the island, this range turns southward and is called Sierra de Ocoa, finishing near the city of Azua de Compostela, on the Caribbean coast. Another branch, Cordillera Oriental or Sierra del Seibo, is separated from the main chain by a karstic region (Los Haitises) and with a west-east direction; it is located south of Samaná Bay.

• The San Juan Valley and Plain of Azua are big valleys south of the Cordillera Central with altitude from 0 to 600 m.

• The Sierra de Neiba, with Mount Neiba the highest mountain with 2,279 m. An extension to the southeast of Sierra de Neiba is the Sierra Martín García (Loma Busú, 1,350 m).

• The Hoya de Enriquillo or Neiba Valley is a remarkable valley, with a west-east direction, of low altitude (on average 50 m with some points below sea level) and with a great salt lake: the Enriquillo Lake.

• The Sierra de Bahoruco, called Massif de la Selle in Haiti. This southern group of mountains have a geology very different from the rest of the island.

• Llano Costero del Caribe (in English, "Caribbean Coastal Plain") is in the southeast of the island (and of the Dominican Republic). It is a large prairie east of Santo Domingo.