Occupying the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola in the West Indies with an area of 48,735 km2 (18,816 sq mi), the Dominican Republic is bordered on the N by the Atlantic Ocean, on the S by the Caribbean, and on the E by the Mona Passage, which separates the Dominican Republic from Puerto Rico. Haiti, on the W, occupies the other third of Hispaniola. This island is the second largest of the Greater Antilles and lies between Cuba on the W and Puerto Rico on the E (Mona Passage). It was discovered by Columbus in 1492.
Four wooded mountain ranges cross the Dominican Republic from NW to SE, with two principal ones. The Cordillera Central is the highest and longest and here Pico Duarte rises to a height of 3175 m (10,477 ft), the highest peak in the West Indies. It is separated from the Cordillera Septentrional by the valley of La Vega Real, occupied by the Cibao River, one of the most fertile belts. In the SW of the Dominican Republic there are two short mountain ranges...
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Butterlin, J., Fairbridge, R.W. (1975). Dominican republic . In: World Regional Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31081-1_42
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