GEOGRAPHY. 35 



Beyond Constanza the trail runs westward, crossing Loma Chinguela 

 at an altitude of about 1,150 meters, perhaps 350 meters below its summit. 

 The descent to Rio del Medio, 300 meters below, is very steep. 



On the west side of Loma Chinguela there is a sudden change in the 

 character of the vegetation. The open pine woods stop abruptly, giving 

 way to nearly bare slopes that bear only an occasional tree. 



From the foot of Loma Chinguela the road descends the gorge of Rio del 

 Medio, at some places clinging high up on the side of the gorge in a trail 

 too narrow for two horses to pass, at others descending to the bank of the 

 river, which it crosses twelve times. At Arroyo El Gorbano it begins the 

 ascent of Loma La Fortuna, scattered over whose side among the clouds, 

 at an altitude of nearly 1,100 meters, is the settlement of Las Caiiitas. 

 The west flank of this mountain overlooks the Sierra del Agua into the 

 Valley of San Juan. 



After fording Rio del Medio for the thirteenth time the trail climbs the 

 steep northern side of Loma la Laguna (altitude about 1,006 meters) and 

 descends the longer, much gentler slope on the south to the boulder- 

 strewn bed of Rio de las Cuevas, which it follows downstream for 9 or 10 

 kilometers to Tubano. 



TRAIL FROM SABANETA TO SAN JUAN. 



Near the Haitian border the Cordillera Central is crossed by several 

 trails, none of which is an important thoroughfare. The trail followed by 

 Messrs. Condit and Ross, upon whose notes this description is based, leads 

 from Sabaneta, in the Province of Monte Cristi, southwestward to Re- 

 stauracion, near the Haitian border, thence through La Cruz, Guayajayuco, 

 and Joca, to Las Matas, in the valley of San Juan. The usual route south 

 from Restauraci6n passes through an eastward projecting corner of Haiti 

 to Banica, but it was deemed advisable to follow the somewhat more diffi- 

 cult trail in order to remain in Dominican territory and thus to avoid 

 conflicts with bandits and revolutionists. 



For three kilometers southwest of Sabaneta the trail traverses grassy 

 savannas, winds over hills of gradually increasing height and steepness, 

 and crosses clear, gravelly brooks and small rivers to La Loma. Loma 

 Penita, locally famous for the wild hogs that roam over it, is the most im- 

 pressive peak seen from the trail. (See PI. VI, A). The highest point 

 reached on this part of the trail is roughly 420 meters above sea level, at 

 which altitude there is an extensive and well-marked dissected upland 

 bench, apparently free from gravel. La Loma, a village of a few score 

 houses in a valley about 160 meters below the level of the upland bench, 

 is the center of an agricultural community. 



From La Loma the trail rises to the level of the upland bench, and thence 

 climbs to the crest of a ridge that stands at an altitude of about 550 meters 



