Introduction
Hispaniola is a mountainous island about 660 km long and up to 260 km wide, with the Dominican Republic in the east and Haiti in the west. It has many features in common with the islands of Cuba and Jamaica to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, the island group forming the Greater Antilles. Four nearly parallel WNW-trending mountain ranges are separated by relatively narrow, alluvial-filled, longitudinal structural depressions (Fig. 5.3.1 ). Coastal plains are also found, and are most extensive on the southeast coast of the Dominican Republic. In Haiti, where the mountains frequently come close to the shore, the area of coastal plain is relatively small. This account is based on a review by Alexander (1985).
Coastal features of Hispaniola. (Courtesy Geostudies.)
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References
Alexander CS (1985) Hispaniola. In: Bird ECF, Schwartz ML (eds) The World’s Coastline. Van Nostrand Reinhold, Stroudsburg, pp 181–185
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Scheffers, A., Browne, T. (2010). Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic). In: Bird, E.C.F. (eds) Encyclopedia of the World's Coastal Landforms. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8639-7_47
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