CHAPTER IX. 

 GEOLOGY OF THE PROVINCES OF BARAHONA AND AZUA. 



By D. Dale Condit and Clyde P. Ross. 



AREA EXAMINED. 



A brief reconnaissance was made late in May and early in June, 1919, in 

 the Provinces of Barahonaand Azua (see PI. XV), which were then geolo- 

 gically unknown, for the purpose of outlining the geology and of determining 

 whether the mineral resources offer sufficient promise to warrant a more 

 detailed investigation. Seepages of oil, beds of rock salt, and indications 

 of metalliferous deposits of various kinds have been known in these prov- 

 inces for many years, but aside from drilling for oil near Azua and the 

 quarrying of rock salt in Enriquillo Basin practically no systematic search 

 has been made in them for mineral deposits. Both provinces are remote 

 from the ordinary lines of travel and are so inaccessible that most of their 

 natural resources have been unexplored. 



The reconnaissance included a journey from Banica, near the Haitian 

 border, eastward through Las Matas and San Juan to Rio Yaque del Sur. 

 A rough traverse of this river was made from the vicinity of Tubano to 

 Cabral and side trips were made to points of interest along the route. One 

 day was spent in the vicinity of Neiba, on the north shore of Lake Enri- 

 quillo, and about a week was spent on the south side of the Enriquillo 

 Basin, between Cabral and Duverge. A short trip was made southward 

 from Barahona and several trips were made in different directions from 

 Azua. Most of the work in the vicinity of Azua was done by Wythe Cooke, 

 who also furnished notes on the region from Constanza southward through 

 Tubano to Azua, and on the country east of Azua. All other parts of the 

 area were covered by the authors. 



We are indebted to officials of the Barahona Company for an excellent 



map of the lower part of Rio Yaque del Sur and the neighboring country 



to the west and for material assistance in other ways during the course of 



the work. Our thanks are due also to Captain Hoenes of the Guardia 



Nacional, who assisted us in many ways, and to Mr. Richard D. Upham 



of the Interocean Oil Co., who placed at our disposal maps and geologic 



reports on the Azua district. 



GEOGRAPHY. 



The Provinces of Barahona and Azua are in the southwestern part of the 

 Dominican Republic, along the Haitian frontier. (See PI. I.) The posi- 

 tion of the international boundary line is so uncertain that the exact areas 

 of the provinces are unknown, but they comprise about one-third of the 

 entire Republic, the total area of which is roughly 28,872 square kilometers. 

 In longitude they range from about 70° 30' to 71° 50' W., and in latitude 

 from 17° 30' to 19° 15' N. 

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