The rapids and cascades of Dominican streams are pregnant with
possibilities, but up to the present time they have remained in their
pristine condition, nor is their energy utilized to drive a single
piece of machinery. The largest and most beautiful waterfall of the
island is doubtless that of the Jimenoa River, in the mountains some
ten miles south of the city of La Vega, where the Jimenoa rushes over
a precipice one hundred feet in height, producing clouds of spray and
a roar that can sometimes be perceived as far as Jarabacoa, six miles
away. Another beautiful fall is that of the Dajabon River, on the
Haitian frontier, 30 feet in height, and there are notable cascades
also on the Comate River, near Bayaguana, on the great plains; on the
Nigua and Higuero Rivers, not many miles from Santo Domingo City; on
the Inova River, near the town of San Jose de las Matas; and on the
Guaranas River, on the Haitian frontier in the commune of Neiba.
The only lakes of any size are two which lie in the Neiba Valley, the
larger one, Lake Enriquillo, being comprised entirely within Dominican
territory, while of the smaller one, variously called Etang Saumatre,
or Lake Azuei, or Laguna del Fondo, through which the frontier line
passes, less than one-fourth is under Dominican jurisdiction. They are
both very picturesque, and with the greenish color of their water and
their arid mountain surroundings recall portions of Lake Titicaca in
Bolivia. In stormy weather they become as rough as the ocean. Lake
Enriquillo derives its name from the last Indian cacique of the
Island, the romantic chieftain Enriquillo, who after fiercely
resisting the Spaniards finally in 1533 concluded an honorable peace
with them on the island of Cabras in the center of this lake. The lake
is over 70 miles in circumference, having a length of about 33 miles
and a width ranging from 3 to 9 miles, Cabras Island, 6 miles long by
one in width, is the home of herds of goats. Lake Azuei is but 15
miles in length with a width of from 2 to 7 miles.
Though the two lakes are scarcely five miles apart, Lake Enriquillo is
102 feet below and Lake Azuei 56 feet above sea-level. Both lakes
receive the waters of several small fresh water creeks, yet they
apparently have no outlet and their water is salt, that of Lake Azuei
only slightly, but that of Lake Enriquillo more so than the sea. On
Cabras Island, however, there is a fresh water spring, and three
lagoons to the east and south of Lake Enriquillo also contain fresh
water. Lake Azuei often shows the paradox of going down during the
rainy season and rising during the dry season; the phenomenon is
attributed to the presence of springs at the bottom of the lake, which
are unusually copious at the end of the rainy season. Both lakes have
at least one variety of ocean fish, though the nearest point of the
seacoast is some twenty miles distant; turtles abound in both and
there are many alligators in Lake Enriquillo and a few in Lake Azuei.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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