GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES NEAR MONTE CRISTI. 177 



folds, and in places dislocated by small faults. The prevalent strike is 

 transverse to the axis of the valley and the dips are more commonly west- 

 ward than eastward. In places the same bed can be traced for considerable 

 distances by continuous outcrop, although the valley floor slopes westward. 

 If therefore seems probable that the strata have a general westward dip, 

 which is varied by small transverse folds. One fold noted was a dome be- 

 tween La Barca and the town of Monte Cristi, and probably there are 

 others. Although the dips are usually low and westward, they are in some 

 places fairly high and southeastward. Along the road from Monte Cristi 

 to Santiago, for instance, there are southeastward dips at angles as steep 

 as 20°. 



The general structural features of the part of the Yaque Valley near 

 Monte Cristi appear to be favorable to the occurrence of artesian water, 

 but this opinion is only preliminary and should be verified by more detailed 

 examination. 



WATER RESOURCES. 



SURFACE WATER SUPPLY. 



There is no permanent stream in the part of the Monte Cristi Range 

 considered in this report, and the water in the streams that emerge from 

 the Cordillera Central is available only in their immediate vicinity. Rio 

 Yaque is the sole present source of water for irrigating the farms in the 

 lower valley and is the principal source of water for domestic use, for which 

 it is packed on burros for distances of 30 kilometers or more from the river. 

 Unfortunately neither discharge records nor analyses of the water of this 

 river are available. No springs are known in the area. After rains water 

 is retained for long periods in pools in the channels of intermittent streams 

 in the Monte Cristi Range, but most of these pools become dry during 

 long droughts. 



UNDERGROUND WATER SUPPLY. 

 POSSIBILITY OF OBTAINING GROUND WATER. 



Only a few shallow wells, none of which have been carried more than 

 a meter below the water table, have been dug in the area under considera- 

 tion. All have been dug by hand and none are more than 10 meters deep. 

 Some of these wells are merely holes in the channels of intermittent streams, 

 have not penetrated the permanent zone of saturation, and are dependent 

 on precipitation for their supply of water. Many of the wells are not 

 reliable at all seasons and would have to be sunk deeper in order to obtain 

 a permanent supply of ground water. The fact that water is found in wells 

 6 to 10 meters deep shows that the water table stands relatively close to 

 the surface. 



The presence of salt water in all the wells has discouraged further develop- 

 ment of the underground supply, but the amount of salt in several of the 

 older wells is said to have decreased so much that their water is potable. 



