The Dominican Republic (Spanish: Repblica Dominicana) is a country in the West

Indies that occupies the eastern five-eighths of Hispaniola. It has an area of 48,442 km,
including offshore islands. The land border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti, which
occupies the western three-eighths of the island, is 275 km long. The maximum length, east to
west, is 390 km from Punta de Agua to Las Lajas, on the border with Haiti. The maximum
width, north to south, is 265 km from Cape Isabela to Cape Beata. The capital, Santo
Domingo, is located on the south coast.
The Dominican Republic's shores are washed by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and
the Caribbean Sea to the south. The Mona Passage, a channel about 130 km wide, separates
the country (and Hispaniola) from Puerto Rico.
Climate
The country is a tropical, maritime nation. Conditions are ameliorated in many areas by
elevation and by the northeast trade winds, which blow steadily from theAtlantic all year long.
The annual mean temperature is 25 C (77 F); regional mean temperatures range from 18 C
(64.4 F) in the heart of the Cordillera Central (Constanza) to as high as 27 C (80.6 F) in arid
regions. Temperatures rarely rise above 32 C (89.6 F), and freezing temperatures only occur
in winter in the highest mountains. The average temperature in Santo Domingo in January is
24 C (75.2 F) and 27 C (80.6 F) in July.
The rain season for the northern coast is from November to January. For the rest of the
country, the rain season is from May to November. The average annual rainfall is 1,346 mm
(53.0 in), with extremes of 2,500 mm (98.4 in) or more in the mountainous northeast (the
windward side of the island) and 500 mm (19.7 in) in the southwestern valleys. The western
valleys, along the Haitian border, remain relatively dry, with less than 760 mm (29.9 in) of
annual precipitation, due to the rain shadow effect caused by the central and northern
mountain ranges. The northwestern and southeastern extremes of the country are also arid.
The Dominican Republic is occasionally damaged by tropical storms and hurricanes, which
originate in the mid-Atlantic and southeastern Caribbean from June until November (mainly
from August to October) each year.

Islands
There are several smaller islands and cays that are part of the Dominican territory. The largest
islands are:
1. Saona, close to the southeastern coast of the Hispaniola, in the Caribbean Sea. It has
an area of 117 km.
[1]
Its Tano name was Iai
[2]
or Adamanay.Columbus named this
island as Savona after the Italian city of the same name but the use during years has
eliminated the letter v.
2. Beata, in the southern coast of the Hispaniola, in the Caribbean Sea. It has an area of
27 km.
[1]
Its Tano name is unknown. Columbus named this island as Madama Beata.
3. Catalina, very close to the southeastern coast of the Hispaniola, in the Caribbean Sea.
It has an area of 9.6 km.
[1]
Its Tano name was Iabanea
,
but some writers, including
poets, say that it was called Toeya or Toella. It was discovered by Columbus who
named it Santa Catalina.
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 Saman
Peninsula (with its Sierra de Saman). 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
Saman Bay. It can be divided in two sections: the northwestern part is the Yaque del
Norte Valley (or Lnea 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 orSierra 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
Saman 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 Martn Garca (Loma Bus, 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 ofSanto Domingo.

Rivers and Lakes
The 8 longest rivers of the Dominican Republic are:
1. Yaque del Norte. With 296 km, it is the longest river of the Dominican Republic. Its
sources are in the Cordillera Central and flows to the Atlantic Ocean. Its
watershed has an area of 7,044 km.
2. Yuna. It is 209 km long. Its sources are in the Cordillera Central and flows to the east
into Saman Bay. Its watershed has an area of 5,498 km.
3. Yaque del Sur. It is 183 km long and its sources are in the Cordillera Central. It flows to
the south into the Caribbean Sea. Its watershed has an area of 4,972 km.
4. Ozama. It is 148 km long. Its sources are in Sierra de Yamas (a branch of the
Cordillera Central). It flows into the Caribbean Sea. Its watershed has an area of
2,685 km.
5. Cam. It is 137 km long. Its sources are in the Cordillera Central and flows into the
Yuna River. Its watershed has 2,655 km.
6. Nizao. It is 133 km long. Its sources are in the Cordillera Central and flows to the south
into the Caribbean Sea. Its watershed has an area of 974 km.
7. San Juan. It is 121 km long. Its sources are in the Cordillera Central and flows to the
south into the Yaque del Sur River. Its watershed has an area of 2,005 km.
8. Mao. It is 105 km long. Its sources are in the Cordillera Central and flows to the north
into the Yaque del Norte River. Its watershed has an area of 864 km.
The Artibonite River is the longest river of the island but only 68 km are in the Dominican
Republic.
The largest lake of the Hispaniola, and of the West Indies, is the Lake Enriquillo. It is located in
the Hoya de Enriquillo with an area of 265 km. There are three small islands within the lake. It
is around 40 meters below sea level and is a saline lake with a higher concentration of salt
than the sea water.
Others lakes are Rincn (fresh water, area of 28.2 km), Oviedo (brackish water, area of
28 km), Redonda, Limn.