CENTRAL, CORDILLERA

limestone mountain range that forms the interior of Puerto Rico island. It consists of three parts. The Cordillera Central proper occupies the west-central part of the island, extending about 50 miles (80 km) from San Germn in the west to the watershed between the Manat and La Plata rivers in the east-central part of the island. In the cordillera, 11 miles (18 km) north of Ponce, is the island's highest peak, Cerro de Punta (4,390 feet ). Limonite (iron-ore) deposits are found in the Las Mesas hills in the west. There is a gradual transition between the Cordillera Central and the lower Sierra de Cayey farther east, the peaks of which rise to 3,000 feet (900 m). The central mountains have more granitic outcrops than do the western mountains. The rivers of both the Cordillera Central and the Sierra de Cayey, notably the Arecibo, La Plata, and Loza, are used extensively for hydroelectric power and water supply. The third section, another subsidiary branch, is the Sierra de Luquillo, which constitutes the northeastern part of the island; it is separated from the Sierra de Cayey by the Caguas, Gurabo, and Blanco valleys. Almost two-thirds of this humid tropical region is occupied by the Caribbean National Forest. mountain range in western Dominican Republic. The core of its highlands rises just west of Santo Domingo, the national capital, and extends northwestward to the Haitian border; from it flow the headstreams of the nation's three chief river systemsthe Yuna, the Yaque del Norte, and the Yaque del Sur. The structurally complex range has a crestline of between 5,000 and 8,000 feet (1,500 and 2,400 m), with several isolated higher peaks. Duarte Peak, originally known as Mount Loma Tina and then as Trujillo Peak, rises to 10,417 feet (3,175 m); it is thus the highest peak in the West Indies. The rugged, heavily forested slopes of the cordillera have defied all but a few attempts to build through highways. Settlement is sparse.