GEOGRAPHY. 41 



The principal towns of the coastal plain are Santo Domingo, the capital 

 of the Dominican Republic; San Pedro de Macoris, one of the most modern 

 towns but cursed with mosquitoes; and Bam. San Cristobal, Hato Mayor, 

 Seibo, Higuey, and La Romana are small villages. 



Saona Island, a flat-topped terraced island, is obviously an outlier of the 

 limestone plain of the southeast peninsula, from which it is separated by a 

 shallow, narrow channel. Catalina Island, off the port of La Romana, is 

 also a remnant detached from the mainland. 



Many good-sized streams, some of them navigable, cross the coastal 

 •plain. Ocean-going steamers enter the mouth of Rio Ozama at Santo 

 Domingo, and the river is navigable by small boats for some distance above 

 the city. Sugar from the large mills at Consuela and the neighboring 

 estates is lightered down Rio Magua and Rio Macoris to San Pedro de 

 Macoris. 



DRAINAGE. 



NORTH SLOPE OF THE CORDILLERA CENTRAL. 



The principal watershed of Santo Domingo is the Cordillera Central, in 

 which all the larger streams have their source. The actual divide is very 

 sinuous and lies somewhat south of the center of the mountain mass. From 

 both sides of this divide good-sized streams find their way to the sea. Rio 

 Yuna, one of the three largest rivers of the republic, heads in the moun- 

 tains east of Constanza, flows in a tortuous course eastward and north- 

 eastward past Bonao, and emerges into the Vega Real near Cotui. Its 

 channel eastward through the Vega Real to the head of Samana Bay is 

 sunk 15 meters, more or less, below the surface of the plain. The Yuna 

 has built a wide delta which nearly blocks the passage between Samana 

 Peninsula and the mainland. About midway between Cotui and Villa 

 Rivas the Yuna is joined by its principal tributary, Rio Camu, which, 

 although it has its source in the Cordillera Central, receives many tribu- 

 taries from the north. Although these two rivers are navigable by launches 

 for many miles no boats larger than dug-out canoes were seen on either of 

 them. These rivers drain nearly all the north slope of the Cordillera Cen- 

 tral east of a line through Santiago and Constanza. Most of the limestone 

 plateau between Cevicos and Sabana de la Mar is drained through under- 

 ground channels. Rio Yaque del Norte rises on the slopes of El Rucillo in 

 the center of the island, runs eastward through the mountains to Jara- 

 bacoa, swings nearly due north to Santiago, and thence flows northwest- 

 ward to the sea at Monte Cristi. Like the Yuna, it has built a large delta, 

 cut by several distributaries, some of which enter Manzanillo Bay and 

 others extend to the ocean near Monte Cristi. Only the northern channel 

 now contains water. Unlike the Yuna and the Camu, the Yaque receives 

 few tributaries from the north. From the south, however, it receives 

 practically all the drainage from the large area between Santiago and the 



