32 GEOLOGICAL RECONNAISSANCE OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. 



Guananitos is broad and nearly flat. At Sabana Grande, which is about 

 250 meters above sea level, it is more than 6 kilometers wide. The floors of 

 the stream valleys, although wide and flat, are bordered by mountains. 

 (See PL VI, B.) The scenery along the route is attractive in many ways 

 and very picturesque. 



The main divide of the Cordillera Central between Sabana Grande and 

 Bonao is crossed by the Bonao trail at an altitude of about 430 meters 

 above sea level. The trail is somewhat steep but not difficult in dry 

 weather, but here, as in many other parts of it, mud is very trouble- 

 some at all times except near the end of the dry season. Small pines grow 

 at altitudes above 340 meters. Mahogany was noted between Piedra 

 Blanca and Hato del Bonao. The growth of bushes and small trees of 

 many kinds is in most places very thick, and some tree ferns were seen. 



Rio Juan Manuel, Arroyo Maimon, and several other clear, swift streams 

 are passed between the summit of the divide and Bonao. No falls were 

 seen, but there are numerous small rapids. None of the streams are large, 

 but several are large enough to supply a small town with water, and 

 perhaps also with some power. 



Bonao, a town of about 1,000 inhabitants and by far the largest settle- 

 ment between the capital and La Vega, stands on the fertile alluvial flat 

 that borders Rio Yuna. It is the center of an agricultural community, 

 which produces considerable quantities of cacao, tobacco, coffee, beans, 

 and many kinds of fruits. 



Rio Yuna, a broad stream about a meter and a half deep, is forded about 

 1 kilometer north of Bonao. The trail thence leads across a low divide into 

 the valley of Rio Jima, a much smaller stream, crosses a low pine-clad 

 ridge, and comes to Loma Miranda. 



Loma Miranda is crossed at an altitude of about 290 meters above sea 

 level. Its grades are among the steepest on the Bonao trail, the descent 

 on the northwestern side to the Vega Real being especially abrupt. The 

 Carretera Duarte avoids this mountain by making a detour down the valley 

 of Rio Jima. At El Pino, near the foot of Loma Miranda, the trail joins 

 the Carretera Duarte and follows the nearly level floor of the Vega Real 

 to Concepci6n de La Vega. 



SIERRA DE OCOA. 



The name Sierra de Ocoa is applied to the part of the Cordillera Central 

 that lies south of Rio de las Cuevas and west of Rio Nizao. This region is 

 well watered, presenting a striking contrast to the thirsty plains of Azua 

 that adjoin it on the south. In the midst of the mountains is the thickly 

 settled, fertile, terraced valley of Rio Ocoa, which drains almost the entire 

 region and passes southward out of it through a gorge extending from San 

 Jose" de Ocoa to Los Ranchitos, near which it emerges upon the plain. 



