The country has three large mountain ranges, the Central Range which begins in Haiti and crosses the central region until where it ends in the south. The Northern Range runs parallel to the Central Range and the Cibao valley, until it disappears into the Atlantic Ocean. Toward the east of the country is the Eastern Range, the shortest and the lowest of the three.

The country has a number of rivers, many of which are navigable, like the Soco, the Higuamo, the Romana, Yaque del Norte, Yaque del Sur, Yuna, Yuma, and Bajabonica.

The surface area of the Dominican Republic is 48.442 km. sq., of which about 73% is dedicated to agriculture, 12% is a forest, 1% is water, and 14% is dedicated to other uses.

The average year is 25 degrees centigrade.

In the mountains, particularly in the winter, lower temperatures are experienced, sometimes even less than zero degrees, mainly in Calle Nuevo, Constanza and Pico Duarte.

The month of August is the hottest of the year and January is the coolest.

Most of the precipitation takes place between May and August and the least during the months of November and December.

The Dominican flora is rich and diverse.

There are 5.600 species of plants, many of which are exclusively tropical, and some which may be found only in the Dominican Republic.

Among the sea birds, pelicans, seagulls, and scissors birds may be spotted, as well as flamingos which are in the Enriquillo Lake and the Oviedo Lagoon. There are 258 kinds of birds, among which the piragua, the barrancoli, the parrot, and the parakeet are worthy of mention.

The country mammals are subdivided into 33 kinds.

The Antillean lake cow, or Manatee, and the blue whale are both interesting large sea mammals. The blue whale arrives in the Bay of Samana every year between December and March, where it gives birth to its young.

Among reptiles, the American crocodile is the most popular. The Iguana is another species worthy of mention.

There are four different types of sea turtles (Carey, Tinglar, Caguano, and green turtle).

The time difference compared to Central Europe is minus 5 hours; during the summer time, it is minus 6 hours.