72 



ON THE TOPQGKAPllY AND CiEOLOCJY 



ill the West Indies. The larger bay itself is an excellent sheltier, although opening, 

 as it does, to the east ; it is sometimes disturbed by winds from that quarter ; but 

 once inside of the lesser bay, or behind any one of the numerous points, a vessel is as 

 secure as if she were docked. West of Santa Barbara, there are five of these points, 

 forming a succession of little side harbors, some deep, some shallow, but all well 

 protected. This part of the peninsula is pretty well populated, and the clean, well- 

 kept houses, nestling along the shore, present a scene of quiet beauty long to be 

 remembered. 



, , . CHAPTER III. 



TOPOGRAPHY OF THE REGION SOUTH OF THE MAIK CHAIN. 



There is a marked contrast between the appearance and topography of the two 

 sides of the island. South of the central chain, there are broad prairies, immense level 

 tracts of forest, and long, heavy mountain ranges, reaching, some almost, others 

 completely, to the coast. The region is naturally divisible into three parts, each 

 having its local peculiarities, and ditfering alike in topography, climate, and vegeta- 

 tion. The first of these includes all the eastern part of the Republic, as far west as 

 the J aina River ; comprising all of the Province of Seybo, and part of Santo Domingo. 

 The second may be said to extend from the Jaina to the vicinity of the Ocoa River, 

 coveriiig the remainder of the Province of Santo Domingo, and overlapping the margin 

 of the province of Azua ; while the third and last region covers the remaining portion 

 of Azua to the Haytien frontier. 



The extreme eastern end of the island, forming the peninsula of Seybo, is made 

 up of the low, terminal portion of the mountains, and a broad plain. This plain 

 comprises about one-half, or nearly so, of the width of the tract on its southern 

 margin, and is in part savana, in part forest. As will be explained in detail in its 

 proper place, the character of the vegetation is dependent on geological causes, and 

 the presence or absence of woodland is a certain key to the character of the under- 

 lying formation. All that portion adjoining the coast, from the Jaina River eastward, 

 around the eastern end, until the mountains reach the sea, is clothed in trees. This 

 strip of forest is of pretty regular outline. It is from eight to twelve miles wide, and 

 Avest of Santo Domingo City, and gradually grows broader, until, near Higuey, it 

 acquires a width of fifteen to twenty miles. Immediately adjoining the coast, there 

 is almost always found a series of terraces. These acquire in all a total height of a 

 little over one hundred feet ; although they are not always strictly recognizable as 



