MARIA TRINIDAD SANCHEZ

coastal province, northern Dominican Republic, facing the Atlantic Ocean (northeast) and rising to a rugged, though not mountainous, interior (maximum elevation 3,091 ft ). The province, 505 sq mi (1,310 sq km) in area, is little developed except along the coastal plains, especially southeast of Nagua, the provincial capital. The province is one of the wettest in the republic, rainfall exceeding 85 in. (2,160 mm) annually, for the most part drained seaward by short torrential streams, of which the Ro Nagua is the most significant. Mixed agriculture and livestock raising predominate, the chief crops being peanuts (groundnuts), cacao, bananas, and tobacco. These are processed in the coastal towns, such as Cabrera and Ro San Juan in the north and Nagua in the southeast, all of which are connected via a coastal road. There are port facilities and an airport at Cabrera. Pop. (1981) 112,629.