The Cordillera Central is the highest mountain range in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

and in all of the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, running through the heart of the island of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

Geography

The Cordillera Central is home to the highest peaks in the Caribbean:

Pico Duarte Pico Duarte is the highest peak in the Dominican Republic, on the island of Hispaniola and in all the Caribbean. At above sea level, it gives the Dominican Republic the 16th-highest maximum elevation of any island in the world. Additionally, it ...

(3,098 m or 10,164 ft) (the highest point in the Caribbean), La Pelona (3,094 m or 10,150 ft) and La Rucilla (3,049 m or 10,003 ft). Connected to the smaller

Massif du Nord The Massif du Nord is the longest mountain range of Haiti. Geography The mountain range is located in the northern region of Haiti, in the departments of the and in . The range's altitude varies from . The Plaine-du-Nord lies along the norther ...

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

, it gradually bends southwards and finishes near the town of San Cristóbal on the

coastal plains. Because of its altitude, cool temperature, and scenic vistas, the Cordillera Central is also known as the " Dominican Alps".

Parks

José Armando Bermúdez National Park José Armando Bermúdez National Park is a Dominican Republic National Park spanning the northern slopes and central portions of the Central Mountain Range. Together with the National Park José del Carmen Ramírez, the two parks were establish ...

(Parque Nacional Armando Bermúdez) is located in the range, protecting a diversity of flora and fauna species. The pale magnolia tree (''Magnolia pallescens''), an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

endemic to the Dominican Republic, grows in the park.

Other ranges

In the southwest corner of the country, south of the Cordillera Central, there are two, largely dry and rocky ranges. The more northerly of the two is the Sierra de Neiba, while in the south the Sierra de Bahoruco is a continuation of the

Massif de la Selle In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

References

Mountain ranges of the Dominican Republic {{DominicanRepublic-geo-stub