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

19 00 N, 70 40 W

Central America and the Caribbean

total: 48,730 sq km
land: 48,380 sq km
water: 350 sq km

slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire

total: 275 km
border countries: Haiti 275 km

1,288 km

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

tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation;
seasonal variation in rainfall

rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys
interspersed

lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m
highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m

nickel, bauxite, gold, silver

arable land: 21%
permanent crops: 9%
permanent pastures: 43%
forests and woodland: 12%
other: 15% (1993 est.)

2,300 sq km (1993 est.)

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

water shortages; soil eroding into the
sea damages coral reefs; deforestation; Hurricane Georges damage

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

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