Travel Destination: Santo Domingo

General Information Collage

The Dominican Republic is the best kept secret of the Caribbean. This unique island, rich in history, culture, and natural beauty, was explored and claimed by Columbus on his first voyage in 1492, then called "Hispaniola".It became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. Santo Domingo de Guzman, its capital, founded by Friar Bartolom� Col�n on August 4th, 1496, is oldest city in the New World.

The Dominican Republic is located between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti with geographic coordinates: 19 00 N and 70 40 W. Its total area is 48,730 sq km (48,380 sq km land and 350 sq km water). Dominican Republic Map Its territory is divided in 30 provinces and the estimated population as of July 2004 is 8,833,634.

The lowest point in the country is El Lago Enriquillo (-46 m) and the highest point is El Pico Duarte (3,175 m). Its natural resources include: nickel, bauxite, gold and silver and its climate is tropical maritime; the average annual temperature is between 18�C/65�F and 27�C/81�F.

The dominican government is a representative democracy. It is formed by three branches: Executive, Legislative and Judicial.

The dominican economy is supported mainly by industries like tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, and tobacco exports.The currency is the Dominican peso (DOP) and the metric system is the legal measuring system.