188 GEOLOGICAL RECONNAISSANCE OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. 



are too salty to support plant growth for a distance of several kilometers 

 from the lake but which gradually merge into dense thickets of mesquite 

 and cacti. 



As the rainfall in all parts of the basin is more than 50 centimeters a year 

 the somewhat desolate aspect of the region is due not to deficient rainfall 

 alone but rather to the fact that most of the rain falls in torrents in one 

 short rainy season and is thus of minimum benefit. Most of the bare low- 

 lands are "saladas" caused by conditions other than scant rainfall. 



It is said that the ground-water level throughout the lowlands is within 

 a meter or two of the smface and that the water is in most places more or 

 less saline. The irrigation of such land will certainly raise the water table 

 and where the ground water is saline it will render the land unfit for culti- 

 vation, but such loss may be temporary, for prolonged flooding may flush 

 the salt water out of the ground. The success of this process will be aided 

 by digging deep drainage ditches at rather short distances apart to carry 

 the salt water toward Lake Enriquillo. By such means an area much 

 larger than that included in the present project of the Barahona Company 

 might ultimately be reclaimed. The great fertility of the soil and its 

 prospective value for raising sugar-cane and long staple cotton seem to 

 warrant the expenditure of a large sum of money on the project. The 

 methods used should be similar to those employed by the United States 

 Reclamation Service in certain parts of Arizona. 



PROVINCE OF AZUA. 



The Province of Azua is somewhat more mountainous than the Province 

 of Barahona, especially in its northern part, which includes many high 

 peaks of the Cordillera Central. The most prominent peaks are Lomas 

 Tina, Rucillo, and Gallo, probably the highest in the islands. It is said 

 that Loma Tina stands 3,100 meters above sea level, but it is doubtful 

 whether the peak has ever been accurately measured or even ascended. 



Spurs extend southward from the principal mountains to the great 

 central valley of San Juan, which, like Enriquillo Valley, to the south, 

 trends a little north of west, reaching westward into the Republic of Haiti. 

 The Neiba Mountains, which lie south of the San Juan Valley, are 1,000 

 to 1,500 meters high and differ from the jagged Cordillera Central in that 

 they consist largely of limestone and other sedimentary rocks that form 

 hogback ridges of fairly even profile. (See PL XVI.) 



The central valley of San Juan ranges in width from 15 to 20 kilometers 

 and the part of it that lies within the Dominican Republic extends from 

 east to west for about 80 kilometers. Within the valley are low hills and 

 rolling country as well as large tracts of nearly level savannas. The most 

 extensive savannas are near the town of San Juan and consist of flat, 

 treeless stretches that lie only a few meters above the level of the river and 

 slope gently southward. 



