The Dominican Republic (Spanish: ''República Dominicana'') is a country in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

that occupies the eastern five-eighths of Hispaniola. It has an area of 48,670 km², including offshore islands. The land border shared with Haiti, which occupies the western three-eighths of the island, is 376 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 , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

, is located on the south coast. 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 with ...

's shores are washed by the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

to the north and the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

to the south. The

Mona Passage The Mona Passage ( es, Canal de la Mona) is a strait that separates the islands of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. The Mona Passage connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea and is an important shipping route between the Atlantic and the Panama ...

, a channel about 130 km wide, separates the country (and Hispaniola) from

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

Physical features

The Dominican Republic is a country with many

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

s, and the highest peaks of the

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

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

s with the same general direction. From north to south, the mountain ranges and valleys are: * ''

Cordillera Septentrional The Cordillera Septentrional is a mountain range that runs parallel to the north coast of the Dominican Republic, with extensions to the northwest as Tortuga (Haiti), Tortuga island in Haiti, and to the southeast through lowlands to where it rises ...

'' (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 The Samaná Península is a peninsula in Dominican Republic situated in the province of Samaná. The Samaná Peninsula is connected to the rest of the state by the isthmus of Samaná; to its south is Samaná Bay. The peninsula contains many beache ...

(with its ''Sierra de Samaná''). Its highest mountain is

Diego de Ocampo The Diego de Ocampo is the highest point in the Cordillera Septentrional in Santiago Province, Dominican Republic. Etymology This peak was named after Diego de Ocampo, a rebel slave leader who hid away in the mountains, pillaged and sabotag ...

, 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 The Cibao, usually referred as "El Cibao", is a region of the Dominican Republic located at the northern part of the country. As of 2009 the Cibao has a population of 5,622,378 making it the most populous region in the country. The region constit ...

'' Valley (Dominican Republic) is the largest and the most important valley of the country. This long valley stretches from North Haiti, where is called ''

Plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...

e 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 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, 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. Habitat Sphaerodactylus epiurus MG 9092

* The ''San Juan Valley'' and ''

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 Lake Enriquillo ( es, Lago Enriquillo) is a hypersaline lake in the Dominican Republic located in the southwestern region of the country. Its waters are shared between the provinces of Bahoruco and Independencia, the latter of which borders Hai ...

''. * 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

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

east of

Climate

The Dominican Republic is a

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

, maritime nation. Owing to its diverse mountainous topography, the country's climate shows considerable variation for its size, and has the most diverse climate zones of all the Caribbean islands, including

subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

s (''Cwb''), oceanic climates (''Cfb'') and hot semi-arid climates (''BSh'') along the usual

tropical savanna Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is dominated by grass and/or shrubs located in semi-arid to semi-humid climate regions of subtropical and t ...

(''Aw''),

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...

(''Am''), and rainforest (''Af'') climates typical of a Caribbean nation. Conditions are ameliorated in many areas by elevation and by the northeast

trade winds The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisp ...

, which blow steadily from the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

all year long. The annual mean

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various Conversion of units of temperature, temp ...

is ; regional mean temperatures range from in the heart of the Cordillera Central ( Constanza) to as high as in arid regions. Temperatures rarely rise above , and freezing temperatures only occur in winter in the highest mountains. The average temperature in

in January is , and 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 , with extremes of or more in the mountainous northeast (the windward side of the island) and in the southwestern valleys. The western valleys, along the Haitian border, remain relatively dry, with less than 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. File:Cabo Cabrón, (Rincón Beach) Samaná, DR.JPG, Tropical rainforest climate in Samana. File:Constanza, valle nuevo, clima invierno..jpg, Frosted alpine forest in Constanza. File:Jaragua National Park (Road2).JPG, Semi-arid climate in Pedernales. File:Dunas de Baní 1.jpg, Desert sand dunes of

Bani Bani may refer to: Places Africa *Bani Department, a department in the Séno Province of Burkina Faso *Bani, Bani, Séno, Burkina Faso * Bani, Bourzanga, Bam, Burkina Faso *Bani, Gnagna, Burkina Faso * Bani, The Gambia *Bani River, a tributary ...

Islands

There are several smaller islands and cays that are part of Dominican territory. The largest islands are: #''

Saona Saona Island ( es, Isla Saona) is a 110 square kilometer tropical island located off the south-east coast in Dominican Republic's La Altagracia province. It is a government-protected nature reserve and is part of '' Parque Nacional Cotubanamá''. ...

'', close to the southeastern coast of Hispaniola, in the

. It has an area of 117 km². Its

Taíno The Taíno were a historic indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the pri ...

name was ''Iai'' As shown in a map made by Andrés Morales in 1508 and published in 1516. ''In'' or ''Adamanay''.

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

named this island as Savona, after the Italian city of the same name, but the use during years has eliminated the letter ''v''. #'' Beata'', also on the southern coast. It has an area of 27 km². Its Taíno name is unknown. Columbus named this island ''Madama Beata''. #''

Catalina Catalina may refer to: Arts and media * ''The Catalina'', a 2012 American reality television show * ''Catalina'' (novel), a 1948 novel by W. Somerset Maugham * Catalina (''My Name Is Earl''), character from the NBC sitcom ''My Name Is Earl'' ...

'', very close to the southeastern coast. It has an area of 9.6 km². Its Taíno name was ''Iabanea'' but some writers, including poets, say that it was called ''Toeya'' or ''Toella''.

Rivers and lakes

Rio Yaque del Norte, looking south, July 2009 - panoramio

The 8 longest rivers of the Dominican Republic are: # ''

Yaque del Norte The Yaque Del Norte River (Spanish, ''Río Yaque del Norte'') is the longest river in the Dominican Republic, as well as the second longest river on Hispaniola, behind the Artibonite River. It is 296 km long and flows northwest into the Atlanti ...

''. At 296 km, it is the longest river in the Dominican Republic. Its sources are in the Cordillera Central and flows to the

. Its watershed has an area of 7,044 km². # ''

Yuna Yuna may refer to: Geography *Yuna River, Dominican Republic *Yuna, Western Australia Music * ''Yuna'' (album), a 2012 album by Malaysian singer Yuna * ''Yuna'' (EP), a 2008 album by Malaysian acoustic singer Yuna People Japanese *Yuna Aoi, wr ...

''. It is 185 km long. Its sources are in the Cordillera Central and flows to the east into

Samaná Bay Samaná Bay is a bay in the eastern Dominican Republic. The Yuna River flows into Samaná Bay, and it is located south of the town of Samaná and the Samaná Peninsula. Wildlife Among its features are protected islands that serve as nesting site ...

. Its watershed has an area of 5,498 km². # ''

Yaque del Sur The Yaque del Sur River (Spanish, ''Río Yaque del Sur'') is a river in the southwestern Dominican Republic. It is approximately 183 km in length. Etymology ''Yaque'' or ''Yaqui'' was a Taíno word given to two rivers in the Dominican Republ ...

''. It is 183 km long and its sources are in the Cordillera Central. It flows to the south into the

. Its watershed has an area of 4,972 km². # '' Ozama''. It is 148 km long. Its sources are in Sierra de Yamasá (a branch of the Cordillera Central). It flows into the Caribbean Sea. Its watershed has an area of 2,685 km². # '' Camú''. It is 137 km long. Its sources are in the Cordillera Central and flows into the Yuna River. Its watershed has 2,655 km². # ''Nizao''. It is 133 km long. Its sources are in the Cordillera Central and flows to the south into the

. Its watershed has an area of 974 km². # ''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 km². # ''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 km². The

Artibonite River The Artibonite River ( Spanish: '' Río Artibonito''; Haitian Creole: ''Latibonit'') is the longest river in Haiti, and the longest on the island of Hispaniola. It is also the second-longest river in the Caribbean, behind the Cauto River in Cuba. ...

is the longest river of the island, but only 68 km flows through the Dominican Republic. The largest lake of Hispaniola, and of the Caribbean, is

Lake Enriquillo Lake Enriquillo ( es, Lago Enriquillo) is a hypersaline lake in the Dominican Republic located in the southwestern region of the country. Its waters are shared between the provinces of Bahoruco and Independencia, the latter of which borders Hait ...

. It is located in the ''Hoya de Enriquillo'' with an area of 265 km². There are three small islands within the lake. It is around 40 meters below sea level, and is a

hypersaline lake A hypersaline lake is a landlocked body of water that contains significant concentrations of sodium chloride, brines, and other salts, with saline levels surpassing that of ocean water (3.5%, i.e. ). Specific microbial species can thrive in hi ...

, with a higher concentration of salt than seawater. Other lakes are ''Rincón'' ( fresh water, area of 28.2 km²), ''Oviedo'' (

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estu ...

water, area of 28 km²), ''Redonda'', and ''Limón''.

Statistics

ISS027-E-17333 - View of Dominican Republic

; Location: : Caribbean, it occupies five-eighths of the island of Hispaniola, between the

and the North

, east of Haiti ;

Geographic coordinates The geographic coordinate system (GCS) is a spherical or ellipsoidal coordinate system for measuring and communicating positions directly on the Earth as latitude and longitude. It is the simplest, oldest and most widely used of the various ...

: : ; Area: :* Total: 48,670 km² :* Land: 48,320 km² :* Water: 350 km² ; Land boundaries: :* Total: 376 km :* Border countries: Haiti ; Coastline: : 1,288 km ; Maritime claims: :* Territorial sea: :* Contiguous zone: :* Exclusive economic zone: with :* Continental shelf: or to the edge of the

continental margin A continental margin is the outer edge of continental crust abutting oceanic crust under coastal waters. It is one of the three major zones of the ocean floor, the other two being deep-ocean basins and mid-ocean ridges. The continental margi ...

; Climate: : Tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall ; Rivers: : Significant rivers include the Jimani River, Río Yaque del Norte, Río Jamao del Norte, Río Isabela and the

Ozama River The Ozama River () is a river in the Dominican Republic. It rises in the Loma Siete Cabezas mountain in the Sierra de Yamasá mountain range, close to the town of Villa Altagracia. History In 1498, Bartolome Colon had a fort built on the Ozama ...

; Terrain: : Rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed ; Elevation extremes :* Northernmost point – Cabo Isabela :* Southernmost point –

Alto Velo Island Alto Velo Island ( es, Isla Alto Velo; also called Alta Vela Island) is a small uninhabited island south of the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea. Its maximum height is about above sea level. It lies on an underwater mountain range which c ...

Jaragua National Park Jaragua National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Jaragua) is a national park of the Dominican Republic. Jaragua National Park is located in the Pedernales Province in the extreme southwest of the Dominican Republic. Jaragua National Park has a total ar ...

:* Southernmost point (mainland) – south of Oviedo, Pedernales in

:* Westernmost point – Las Lajas, border with Haiti,

Independencia Province Independencia () is a province of the Dominican Republic, located in the west, on the border with Haiti. Its capital is Jimani. The province was created in 1948 but was made official in 1950. Before its creation, it was part of the Baoruco Pr ...

:* Easternmost point – Punta de Agua,

La Altagracia Province La Altagracia () is the easternmost province of the Dominican Republic. Punta Cana is located on the eastern shores of this province. The province was part of the old La Altagracia Province, which split into 2, La Altagracia Province and La Roman ...

:* Lowest point –

Lago Enriquillo Lake Enriquillo ( es, Lago Enriquillo) is a hypersaline lake in the Dominican Republic located in the southwestern region of the country. Its waters are shared between the provinces of Bahoruco and Independencia, the latter of which borders Ha ...

: -46 m :* Highest point –

: 3,098 m ; Natural resources: :

Nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow ...

bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO ...

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

; Land use: :* Arable land: 16.56% :* Permanent crops: 10.35% :* Other: 73.10% (2012 est.) ; Irrigated land: : 3,241 km² (2018) ; Total renewable water resources: : 21 km³ (2011) ; Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): :* total: 5.47 km³/yr (26%/1%/72%) :* per capita: 574.2 m³/yr (2005) ; Natural hazards: : Lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts ; Environment - current issues: : Water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs;

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

; damage caused by

Hurricane Georges Hurricane Georges () was a powerful and long-lived Cape Verde Category 4 hurricane which caused severe destruction as it traversed the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico in September 1998, making eight landfalls along its path. Georges was the seve ...

; Environment - international agreements: :* Party to:

Biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

Climate Change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

, Desertification, Endangered Species,

Marine Dumping The Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter 1972, commonly called the "London Convention" or "LC '72" and also abbreviated as Marine Dumping, is an agreement to control pollution of the sea by dum ...

Marine Life Conservation The Convention on Fishing and Conservation of Living Resources of the High Seas is an agreement that was designed to solve through international cooperation the problems involved in the conservation of living resources of the high seas, consideri ...

Nuclear Test Ban The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is a multilateral treaty to ban nuclear weapons test explosions and any other nuclear explosions, for both civilian and military purposes, in all environments. It was adopted by the United Nation ...

Ozone Layer Protection The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion. It was agreed on 16 September 1987, and entered into force o ...

Ship Pollution The environmental effects of shipping include air pollution, water pollution, acoustic, and oil pollution. Ships are responsible for more than 18 percent of some air pollutants. As for greenhouse gas emissions, the International Maritime Orga ...

, Wetlands :* Signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea ; Geography - note: : Shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (eastern five-eighths is the Dominican Republic, western three-eighths is Haiti)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geography Of The Dominican Republic