GEOGRAPHY. 29 



At the east end of the peninsula, between Punta Balandra and the head 

 of Rincon Bay, at an altitude of perhaps a hundred meters above sea level, 

 there is a limestone plateau, which merges into the hills on the west side. 

 This area is drained through sinks by subterranean streams, some of which 

 are said to emerge on the beach as springs. Between Punta Balandra and 

 Cabo Samana several terraced flats, probably of marine origin, are plainly 

 visible from the decks of passing steamers. 



The rainfall is very heavy in Samana Peninsula and it is more evenly dis- 

 tributed throughout the year than in some other parts of the island. As 

 the climate is moist and the soil is fertile, the peninsula is clothed with a 

 dense cover of vegetation which, except on the beaten trails, is in many 



places impassable. 1 



CIBAO VALLEY. 



The Cibao Valley extends from Monte Cristi and Manzanillo Bay 

 eastward to Samana Bay, a distance of about 225 kilometers, and it ranges 

 in width from about 15 to about 45 kilometers. It is bordered on the north 

 by the Cordillera Septentrional, which is nearly straight, and on the south 

 by the Cordillera Central, which has an irregular front and many re- 

 entrant valleys. In the vicinity of Santiago it is divided by a low, hilly 

 watershed into two nearly equal parts. 



The western half of the Cibao Valley is drained by Rio Yaque del Norte, 

 which flows northwestward into Manzanillo Bay. Most of the country 

 here is rolling and open, and the streams in it are deeply entrenched below 

 the general level. The gently tilted limestone ledges of the Yaque group 

 (Miocene) form ridges or hogbacks, some of which are 100 or 200 meters 

 high. Among the more prominent hills on the south side of the Yaque 

 are the Loma de Caracol and the Sierra Zamba. 



The greater part of the west end of the Cibao Valley is occupied by the 

 broad delta and flood plain of Rio Yaque, but between this low country 

 and the foothills of the mountains lies a strip of higher land dotted with 

 gravelly knolls, which appear to be remnants of a formerly continuous sheet 

 of gravel. Farther upstream the flood plain narrows and finally disappears 



The eastern half of the Cibao Valley is drained by Rio Yuna, which flows 

 eastward into Samana Bay, and its principal tributary, Rio Camu. These 

 streams, as well as the smaller ones, are sharply incised. Between San 

 Francisco de Macoris and Santiago the valleys are 15 to 25 meters deep 

 and little more than 100 meters wide at the surface. The eastern part of 

 the Cibao Valley includes the fertile Vega Real (Royal Meadow), which 

 extends from the swamp lands at the head of Samana Bay nearly to 

 Santiago. The Vega Real is among the most impressively fertile districts 

 in the world. Its nearly level plains yield large crops of cacao, tobacco, and 

 bananas, and its grassy savannas afford excellent pasturage. It is trav- 

 ersed by the Ferrocarril de Santiago y Samana. 



'For a more detailed description of Samana Peninsula see pp. 181-185 of this volume. 



