Geography of the Dominican Republic (original) (raw)

Location: Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti

**Geographic coordinates:**19 00 N, 70 40 W

**Map references:**Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
_total:_48,730 km²
_land:_48,380 km²
_water:_350 km²

**Area - comparative:**slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire

Land boundaries:
_total:_275 km
_border countries:_Haiti 275 km

**Coastline:**1,288 km

Maritime claims:
_contiguous zone:_24 nm
_continental shelf:_200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
_exclusive economic zone:_200 nm
_territorial sea:_6 nm

**Climate:**tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall

**Terrain:**rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed

Elevation extremes:
_lowest point:_Lago Enriquillo -46 m
_highest point:_Pico Duarte 3,175 m

Natural resources: nickel, bauxite, gold, silver

Land use:
_arable land:_21%
_permanent crops:_9%
_permanent pastures:_43%
_forests and woodland:_12%
_other:_15% (1993 est.)

**Irrigated land:**2,300 km² (1993 est.)

**Natural hazards:**lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts

**Environment - current issues:**water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation; Hurricane Georges damage

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

**Geography - note:**shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic, western one-third is Haiti)

See also : Dominican Republic